Climbing is such a great sport! The rumors fly fast and furious, and the quantity is limited only by our imaginations and the number of six-packs consumed...
Having done the second ascent many moons ago, and hearing all the stories back then, here is yet another rumor to add to your haulbag...
"After Jim's partner smashed his leg on an aborted earlier attempt, Jim was forced to solo Cosmos. He was so fried and frightened after the many days he spent in the unknown, that he left the Valley immediately after topping-out, headed back East, and sold all his gear. Supposedly never to climb again." The route was a total mystery to all of us. According to some Valley locals at the time, Jimmy said nary a word about the route and he never even drew a topo for anyone before he split to join the monastery. Another rumor. Speaking of habits...the story around here was that it was **FEAR** that drove Jim to kick the climbing habit for a time, not the ennui of "having done it all".
We carried a rack to end all racks, since we were heading into the unknown. And after days of route finding, we were left with a single quart of water for the last us for the two days. (But that's another story.) When Jack Roberts and I did the route four years later, I was struck by the the portrait in stone left by the man who led the way. There is some brilliant stuff lower down, but the higher you climb the more desparate (sp?) the climbing becomes. The conclusive evidence--to my mind--can be seen on the final pitch below the traverse to the West Buttress. A straight-forward diaganal ramp with 5.9-5.10 face stuff was totally avoided, in order to nail a slightly overhung incipient rurp crack with a "chicken" bolt placed in the middle of the wall! There was never a choice; given a belayer and the courage engendered by a second soul on the route, no one in their right mind would try and nail that too too poor crack. The ramp is the obvious choice...
The deteriorating mental state of Jim was writ large on Cosmos! I have a profound respect for his achievement, and I don't mean to take anything away from his first ascent. But I highly recommend this line to anyone interested in the history of climbing and psychology of climbers.
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