Jim Bridwell

Jim Bridwell (born 1944) is an American rock climber and mountaineer, active since 1965 especially in Yosemite Valley, but also in Patagonia and Alaska. He is noted for pushing the standards of both free climbing and big-wall climbing, and later alpine climbing. He has written numerous articles on climbing for leading sport publications. Bridwell is credited with over 100 First Ascents in Yosemite Valley, in addition to conducting the first one-day ascent of The Nose of El Capitan on May 26, 1975 with John Long and Billy Westbay. He founded Yosemite National Park's Search and Rescue Team (YOSAR), and spearheaded many rescues that became textbook for Search and Rescue operations. He was a leading force in the changing techniques of climbing and an innovator/inventor of widely used and copied climbing gear, including copperheads and bird beaks.