As much as I enjoy mountaineering and climbing, I realistically know that I do not have the talent or drive to be a world-class, elite mountaineer. Jonny Copp was the only one amongst my friends out here in Boulder who truly was of that caliber. Humble, fun, down to Earth, JC nonetheless was an incredibly accomplished climber, ticking off first routes all over the world--Patagonia, Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and so on. While we weren't super close, he was still a buddy and an inspiration. Recently, news has some in that his climbing party--consisting of himself and two other climbers--was reported late in returning from a daring first ascent attempt on an obscure, unclimbed peak in China called "Mount Edgar" (you can read more about it here). Sadly, the rescue efforts, which are already into day 7 have turned up an as-of-yet unidentified body. All signs are pointing to tragedy.
It feels kind of surreal because JC has had so many amazing scrapes and close calls and always made it back home to Boulder. His life was one of constant adventure and endlessly pushing the limits of what is possible in the mountains. While there is still a sliver of hope, it's not looking good. I'm not ready to write any sort of eulogy, but... the fact is, this is the game of mountaineering. You can be the very best in the world and when the time comes, mother nature will claim her bounty. Such was the case with another seemingly invincible climber, Alex Lowe.
I've always thought that one must be pre-programmed with a fearless gene to continue to take risks of this magnitude over and over again. Some describe it as an addiction. For most of us, even one close call with truly imminent and life-threatening danger is enough to cause us to fearfully abandon whatever it was that chilled our spines. This is normal and natural as a response. However, some people have a different view on the world; many cite the near-fatal consequences and wild settings as truly living. Maybe they are right to some degree, but the problem with the big game is that losing is for keeps.
