Jim Bridwell

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Jim Bridwell 2003

Jim Bridwell (* 29. July 1944 in San Antonio , † 16th February 2018 in Palm Springs ) was an American climber , mountain guide and witness the development of modern Bigwall- and free climbing in Yosemite National Park , and to the great walls of earth . He is the founder of YOSAR ( Yosemite Search and Rescue ), a mountain rescue unit made up of mountaineers in Yosemite National Park.

Life

Jim Bridwell's father was a USAF pilot and later worked for the Pan Am airline , which means that the family often moved because of work.

As he grew up, he found his way into the climbing scene at Yosemite. Here he can make countless first ascents and tours that are still some of the great classics around the world. At the “Cookie Cliff” he opened up the “Nabisco wall”, “Outer Limits”, “Butterfinger” and “Wheat thin” routes. The latter route was at that time one of the most difficult technical routes in the world and probably the first route in grade 5.11 (UIAA 8) . In addition to free climbing on shorter routes, he also managed many difficult big wall routes, with routes such as "Triple Direct", "Pacific Ocean Wall" or "Zenyatta Menatta". John Bridwell also conducted the first “speed ascent” of a big wall - the route “ The Nose ” in one day.

With a few other climbers he founded YOSAR, a kind of mountain rescue in the Yosemite Valley. In order to increase his performance, he began as one of the first climbers to systematically train for climbing in the legendary Camp IV behind the Columbia boulder.

As an enthusiastic skier, he was able to earn money as a ski patroller in Squaw Valley during the winter and trained as an AMGA mountain guide in the winter of 1979/1980. “Again and again he was on the road as a mountain guide as far as the Himalayas.” In the winter of 1982 he and a small team managed to climb the south face of Pumori , 7,145 m, for the first time.

In 1979, together with Steven Brewer, he achieved what was probably the second ascent of Cerro Torre in Patagonia. He was also active in the Alps. In Chamonix he got routes like “The Shroud” on the Grandes Jorasses and the classic Eiger north face in the Bernese Oberland. In Alaska, he was the first to climb the north face of the Moos Tooth in the Alaska Range . In 1988 he achieved another milestone in Patagonia. The “Exocet” route on Cerro Standhardt is one of the classics in the area today. In addition to mountaineering, Bridwell was also engaged in philosophical thoughts. His thoughts were laid down in the 2097-page book “Urantia”, which deals with the relationship between religion and people.

On February 16, 2018, Jim Bridwell died of liver damage from a hepatitis C disease while tattooing while crossing Borneo .

Important alpine successes

  • 1962 Higher Cathedral Spire
  • 1963 Higher Cathedral Rock, northeast pillar
  • 1964 Middle Cathedral Rock, 1st free ascent V, Washington Column east wall VI, south wall V
  • 1965 Higher Cathedral Spire Northwest Face Difficulty VI, 3rd ascent Half Dome normal route
  • 1966 Half Dome "Direct" 2nd ascent, "The Yawn" 1st free ascent
  • 1967 "Higher Cathedral Rock" east face. 1st ascent, Quarter Dome, 1st ascent in one day, Leaning Tower 2nd ascent in one day, Washington Column South Face First ascent
  • 1968 El Capitan , The Nose 1st free ascent of the “Stove leg cracks”, 1st ascent in 2 days
  • 1969 El Capitan, "Intregral" first ascent, "Salathe" 1st ascent with 2 bivouacs
  • 1970 New dimension: 1st ascent in US grade 5.11. Ribbon Falls "Vain Hope", first ascent
  • 1971 El Capitan, "Aquarian" first ascent
  • 1972 1st major rescue operation on El Capitan, "The Nabisco Wall" free inspection
  • 1974 Yosemite Falls , Geek Towers V / 5.11 +
  • 1975 El Capitan, "The Nose", first ascent of El Capitan in one day (15 hours). “Pacific Ocean” first ascent, probably the most difficult technical climb at the time
  • 1976 Ribbon Falls, "Gold Ribbon" VI. El Capitan, "Mirage" first ascent, "El Mocho" first ascent
  • 1977 Huayna Potosí , Bolivia, new route. Half Dome, "Bushido" first ascent
  • 1978 El Capitan, "Sea of ​​Dreams" first ascent; Half Dome, "Zenith" first ascent
  • 1979 Cerro Torre southeast ridge first ascent, Kichatna Spire northwest face , first ascent
  • 1980 Grandes Jorasses "Shroud"
  • 1981 Mooses Tooth east face 1st winter ascent, El Capitan "Zeniatta Mendatta", first ascent
  • 1982 Pumori south face, new route, 1st US ascent , 1st winter ascent, Changtse III first ascent
  • 1983 Borneo 1st crossing, Camel Expedition
  • 1985 Mount Everest , west ridge to a few hundred meters before the summit
  • 1987 Half Dome "Big Chill" first ascent, Mooses Tooth west ridge
  • 1988 Cerro Stanhardt first ascent, "Des Mochada" first ascent
  • 1989 El Capitan west face, free ascent VI / 5.11 +
  • 1991 Half Dome "Shadows", first ascent
  • 1996 Newfoundland , four first ascents up to WI6
  • 1997 El Capitan, "Wyoming Sheep-ranch", VI / 5.10 / A5 +
  • 1998 El Capitan, "Plastic Surgery Disaster", VI / 5.9 / A5; "Heavy Metal" first ascent VI / 5,10 / A5
  • 1999 Bear Tooth , first ascent, VII / 5.9 + / A4 / WI4 +; Grand Capucin , first ascent VI / 5.4 / A4

Web links

Commons : Jim Bridwell  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Obituary: Jim “The Bird” Bridwell (1944-2018). In: Climbing Magazine. February 16, 2018, accessed May 24, 2018 .
  2. ^ Yosemite Climbing Association: Jim Bridwell - a selection of ascents and first ascents. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on May 21, 2011 ; accessed on August 11, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / yosemiteclimbing.org
  3. ↑ Walter Laserer : Jim Bridwell 1944 - 2018. bergstieg.com, February 18, 2018, accessed November 1, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Bridwell, Jim
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American climber
DATE OF BIRTH July 29, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH San Antonio
DATE OF DEATH February 16, 2018
Place of death Palm Springs (California)