I moved into a house with my good friend Harvey and a friend of his, and later Scott met his wife to be, named Debbie. All of us decided to go tubing down the Salt River one day since it was summer again in Arizona. We purchased a new product on the market called Bullfrog sunscreen which we applied it all over us before we hit the water. We were experienced tubers so we had our own cooler tube, radio tube, and covered the black tubes with big towels before sitting in the water with them so we would not get burned by the hot black tube rubber. It was a hot day so we kept reapplying the sunscreen being smart and being one step ahead of the hot sun. I was wearing a red hippie shirt that I purchased from a Goodwill store a few years prior. This shirt I kept unbuttoned so my chest was exposed and my shoulders were covered. It was a fun trip!

An hour later once we got home we noticed how burnt we really were and the blisters started appearing. Scott was from Hawaii and he was totally fine and became instantly tanned. Debbie and I were more of the white skin breed where when tanned, we would become a shade below antique white. Debbie started getting finger size blisters all over her legs and my stomach become one huge blister. The next day I visited a doctor who instructed me to keep vitamin E liquid on the burn at all times or I would really feel the pain. The healing process took three weeks where I could not work, wear a shirt and pretty much sat the entire time. We contacted Bullfrog with the problem where they were going to send us each a full years supply of sunscreen in apology. I do not know what that amounts to since I told them I would never trust putting their product on me again so do not send it. I was just informing them of the problem. Bullfrog sunscreen is now a big name and is on many of the store shelves across the country.

Why am I telling you this? The red hippie shirt that I was wearing is the exact same shirt that Jim Bridwell is wearing in the famous 1975 "One Day Ascent of The Nose" photo. I threw away my shirt after the tubing trip but am amazed that it was totally the same shirt. Many years later at one of the trade shows, I was talking to Jim Bridwell about the clothing he was wearing in that famous Nose route photo. 
He got a laugh out of my story and found it amusing. I asked if he still had any of the clothing especially the pants that he was wearing. He said, "Why would you want those pants, they have a hole in them near the knee?" That was exactly why I wanted the pants. You see, in collecting clothing memorabilia, an item is always more valuable if it has a rip or tear in it, especially if you can see the tear in a photo or video. This way there is no doubt that it is the original over just another store bought fake.
Jim mentioned that he may still have the shirt, but may have thrown it away as well. Jim searched his house and was able to find it then called me saying "Come on over and get it!" I told him to do nothing with it! Do not even wash it and just leave it as it is! I was pretty excited YES! Did I mention YES!!! (This yes goes along with a little dance I did around the house when I found out). Jim said that he would sell it to me for a few hundred bucks.

At that time my friend Rich was asking to go on a fun road trip. So drive to San Diego to visit the ocean, then drive up through Tahquitz and climb there a little, then cruise through Palm Desert, and then return home to Arizona. I called Jim and mentioned that we will be going by his house on our trip, and to get the shirt ready for me. I did not mention to Rich that we were stopping at Jim's house.

The trip was a blast and we shared many laughs and then while in Palm Desert, I told Rich that I have to stop at a friends house to pick something up. Jim's house was very easy to find. Peggy and Jim were home and invited us in where Rich gave Jim a look of "I know you." Rich is an older climber than me who has never missed reading a Climbing Magazine. It finally dawned on him that he was standing in front of Jim Bridwell. Rich didn't know if he should run away or to start
jumping up and down like some school girl. Jim came over and broke the ice saying to Rich, "It is very nice to meet you." I noticed this blue paisley shirt hanging on a hanger on the wall, but I walked right by it and stood wondering why Jim has not given me his shirt yet. Jim looked at me and said "That is the shirt!" Ummmmm, I was expecting the red one that he was wearing in the Nose photo and I became disappointed of what I was purchasing.

​I was really wanting the red shirt since it was in my sunburnt tubing memory. I paid for the shirt anyways and shrugged my shoulders. Jim then filled me in on the history of this blue paisley shirt. Jim found this piece of fabric and while he was sitting around Camp 4 on his rest days, he would work on sewing the piece of fabric. He decided to create a long sleeve shirt with it. This entire shirt was hand sewn and created by Jim Bridwell. The snap buttons around the collar, the button loops, the wood buttons, and all of the sewing, everything. At that time my trophy started looking less tainted and I became excited about the shirt. I noticed that there was a strange button made of wood in the shape of a cross with a circle on top. The button was in the shape of a Ankh which is a Egyptian symbol for life, and the afterlife. Jim said that originally there were 5 wood buttons on it however, the one that was there was the only one that lasted through his climbing adventures. Jim carved the wood buttons out of Manzanita branches from plants in Yosemite. Before we left the Bridwell residence, Jim looked at me and said that he knew that I was getting a screaming deal here. I could feel his concern with the shirt very deep inside of me. I reassured Jim that his amazing shirt was in the “best hands it could be in!” Rich and I continued on our adventure back to Phoenix and I believe that meeting Jim Bridwell in person, was Rich’s greatest moment of the vacation.
I got in contact with Jim again and asked if he could recreate more of the wood buttons for the shirt. He said that he would first need some manzanita wood to carve the buttons out of. I told him the Manzanita was on the way. At that time Rich and I were working on creating new climbing routes at our secret area named Northern Devils Canyon, which is near Superior Arizona. Northern Devils Canyon is filled with manzanita bushes and I was psyched on the button project. Jim received the Manzanita branches and carved 6 new wood buttons out of the branches, and sent them back to me. From there I personally sewed 4 of the 6 buttons onto the shirt in the places where the missing buttons originally existed. The only original button is the second one down from the top, black thread. It can easily be seen in the 1975 "Nose in a Day" photo just below Jim Bridwell's hand which is leaning on John Longs shoulder.
​The story is: After Billy Westbay, Jim Bridwell and John Long completed climbing the Nose Route in a Day adventure, the next day they visited a Salvation Army thrift store, and purchased these hippie clothes on purpose for this famous Yosemite photo. Jim wanted to wear his shirt for the photo but John Long could not fit into the red button down vest shirt purchased from the store. so Jim and John switched shirts and the rest is history. All of the clothing was eventually thrown away except for this shirt that Jim Bridwell had created. I never washed it since I wanted it to still have the Camel non-filter cigarette aroma that Jim is so well known for. Jim is the one that switched my thoughts of my climbing collection being just a collection, into it actually becoming a museum. I was so honored in life to be possessing such a great historical Yosemite piece of this caliber in my home. But now in history my name will be forever attached to this famous shirt.

I know that this historic Jim Bridwell shirt if properly advertised could fetch many thousands of dollars as in actuality, it is priceless. To me this shirt is Yosemite based and is a foundation that represents climbing in America. So I donated the shirt to the Yosemite Museum for free. This shirt was another item that almost got destroyed in a flood that happened at my house many years ago. I have always known that this amazing piece of history belongs not with me, but in the Yosemite Museum. Thank you Jim Bridwell for believing in the Karabin Climbing Museum!

On August 2011 the Bridwell shirt was sent to Ken Yager as he is creating a Yosemite Climbing Museum. Now the dream is becoming a reality as the Yosemite Climbing Associations Museum opens sometime in later 2020. Congratulations Ken Yager!
In the picture frame above you can see 4 of the 5 shirt wood buttons. On purpose I used blue string to resew the new buttons onto the shirt while the original button, which is the button touching the photo on the right, was sewn on by Jim Bridwell with black string. 
In July 2011 I created a display of two glass frames which showed the history of the Jim Bridwell shirt, to be placed on the Omega Pacific company booth at the 2011 summer Outdoor Retailers Show in Salt Lake City. The show was four days long so every night I had to take down the shirt display since Omega Pacific didn't trust it becoming stolen overnight. Everybody that came across the shirt was excited to be with this piece of amazing history! So as a treat, just before the show was over I took the shirt out of the glass frame and allowed people to put it on as photos were taken of the moment. After the show I brought the shirt to the Phoenix Rock Gym and allowed a few people to put it on as more photos were taken, then I packaged it up and sent it to the Yosemite Museum attention Ken Yager!

I call this segment: "Last call for the Bridwell Shirt!!!"

Marty Karabin

My son James

My son Nicholas

Robert Olson

Jaime Gangi

Nicholas " NEO" Oxentenko

Brady Robinson

Scott Miller

Sus

Scott Newell

Robert/Marty/Jon Jonkers

Dale Stewart

John Evans

Brian Jonas

Erin Orwig

Paul Diefenderfer

Keenan Murray

Larry Reinmuth

Rich LeMal