Jim Bridwell

It was an artful deceit, a blurring of fact that eventually led to one of Yosemite's finest routes.

"The Bird" was a leading and often controversial Yosemite climber who overlapped with the Valley's "Golden Era" that included Royal Robbins and Warren Harding, and the Stonemasters, for whom he was the defacto leader. Here, he muses over what was then the new concept of detailed climbing grades, and how ego affects ratings—thinking that still applies.

First published in 1994, this interview with the late Jim Bridwell runs the gamut: aid routes, alpinism, fast free climbs, vivid dreams, Patagonia, sport climbing, and more.

The classic story of the first ascent of the East Face of Moose's Tooth by climbing legends Jim Bridwell and Mugs Stump.

Check out Climbing Staff's author page.

Remembering the great innovator and prolific-first ascensionist