Category: Factor Two

Deep Play – Neil Gresham and Dr Rebecca Williams

“I climb better when I’m scared.”
I’ve heard this quite a few times. I even thought it was true about myself for a while in my earlier climbing career, but it surely can’t be true?We explore fear in climbing with Neil Gresham and Dr Rebecca Williams.

The Moment You Doubt – Ben Bransby

Many of the stories in Factor Two feature the same scenario – What next? You always imagine ticking the big goal might be enough, but it rarely is. For Ben Bransby and Jvan Tresch...

Freebird – Ben Bransby

After hearing from Leo Houlding and Patch Hammond about their legendary Yosemite season in 1998 there was one obvious gap in our story – Ben Bransby. Before attempting Freerider with Patch, Ben had made...

Living in the Shadows – Franco Cookson

Internet forums wouldn’t be the same without their villains and heroes, would they? Franco Cookson appeared on the UKC forums back in February 2008. He began posting prolifically from the off and rarely stopped...

No More Heroes? – Patch Hammond

Patch Hammond has remained a bit of an enigma in the climbing world. If you flick through the magazines from the late 1990s you’ll see a scruffy youth with an impressive climbing CV –...

No More Worlds – Leo Houlding

Back in 1998 Leo Houlding and Patch Hammond achieved something almost unthinkable – a near onsight ascent of El Capitan. They were just 18, had no big wall experience and headed to Yosemite without...