Bruce Albert - OG Northwest Climber, Photographer

I was so sad to hear that we lost Bruce Albert a week ago.  I've been scouring the internet for his photos and contributions to climbing in the northwest. If its a photo from the 70s or 80s in Leavenworth or Index, chances are that Bruce took it.  

I only met him a few years ago, but would love to hear stories and see some of his photos from this community to help honor his contributions to our state. 

Yes, Bruce took that picture. Bruce and I were friends for a very long time. We went to Yosemite together for a month in the fall of 1972. We climbed together in Leavenworth, Squamish and Index over the years. When I heard he had cancer last year, I wasn’t surprised. He smoked unfiltered Pall Mall cigs for 30-40 years before quitting a decade or two ago.

His photography is amazing and his writing is unsurpassed. He has a website for some of his photos: https://brucealbert.smugmug.com/

He wrote an ad for his Pre-Demise Yard Sale that still cracks me up when i read it.

We spoke frequently and I visited him every time I was in the Northwest.

I’ll miss his dry wit and intelligent insight. We’ll meet again on the other side soon enough….

Here’s a picture of a very young Bruce below Classic Crack in 1972:

Here’s a shot of Bruce climbing the Center Route of Moby Dick at the base of El Capitan in Yosemite in 1972:

Bruce, made me my first swami belt and gave it to me and would not take any payment. I think we climbed "Century" at Castle Rock one time but it's been a long time. He always encouraged me and stuck up for me, and called me "little Bobby Crawford" I ran with a bad crowd for a while. He and Catherine Freer always had my back, I got away from those thieves and pulled my head out of my ass much to their credit. PS Carla Fiery also was kind and forgiving as was the late Gary Palmer. best regards Bob Crawford.