In reply to john arran:
John, I suspect that two things served to tame The Thing - wires and cams. (From memory - always fickle!) Jim placed two small wires and then launched into the crux. Those wires (Chouinard, I think) were then pretty much state of the art - kind of what skyhooks are on a trad route now. I'd never seen them before but was mightily impressed. Went down to Browns the next day and bought a couple.
I remember the crack as steep and sustained but steady jamming. There was an old garage nut in it, too deep to thread. I'm guessing that Brown (1956) and the early ascentionists such as Frank Cannings, Ian Cameron, Al Harris (all in the early '60s) would all have had the first good gear in/near this. A lot of commitment! Today, I suppose you can pop in cams at will and just enjoy it.
I suppose it's about commitment, vis a vis protection. That summer I did the Corner with five runners and Wombat, at Malham, with four - dumb! But the generation just before mine, the early/mid-Sixties guys, regularly climbed harder with far worse gear. I've always felt that they've been somewhat unfairly overshadowed in climbing history. They really pushed the boat out!
But Ludwig - tales of horror and, thankfully, above my pay grade. Probably a very good idea indeed not reading the history until after having done it!
Mick