Factor Two

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 an ascent of the Salathe Wall with Mark Reeves. It was his first taste of big wall climbing and gave him the confidence that he could get himself out of trouble if needed. The climbing world might have been astonished at his and Patch's efforts on Freerider - remember at this time that there were only 2 free routes on El Capitan - but for Ben it felt like unfinished business. After getting gripped on the Monster Offwidth and succeeding on the Enduro Corner and the Boulder Problem he and Patch ended up jumarring the Huber brothers' fixed ropes to finish the route.

A few years later he returned to the valley with the goal of doing Freerider "properly". In doing so the seed was planted for a one day ascent with Swiss climber Jvan Tresch. A few teams had done this previously, including the Hubers, who overtook Patch and Ben in 1998. Their ascent was almost curtailed by the wrong kind of commitment. They were arrested and jailed in Yosemite after being caught shoplifting kneepads to try to protect themselves in the Monster Offwidth. After being bailed out on a Friday evening they were due in court on Monday and could end up being thrown out of the valley. In the early hours of the Saturday morning the pair set off on what would prove to be the biggest, hardest day of cragging they'd ever had. Being committed on El Capitan like it was just another day at the crag was a dream come true, and one that Ben holds up as his proudest climbing achievement.

As with Patch and Leo, this is very much a coming of age story. It's clear that with each ascent Ben was looking to the next adventure already, banking the experience for future use. But this story is an echo of previous tales in Factor Two in many more ways. If you've listened to our episode Nine and a Half Hours with Duncan Critchley you'll see what I mean - A one day ascent of El Capitan with a Swiss climber? The reverberations from Duncan's Nose In A Day back in 1984 are a little spooky, right down to the words they use. That's what I love about these stories, climbing is such a shared experience. Getting a little glimpse into that shared mindset is something relatable at any level.

Music credits:

Stiller Tag Philip Weigl

Free Tone Textures Small Colin

Aftermath Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)

I Am Running Down the Hallway of Viewmont Elementary Chris Zabriskie

Plantation Audionautix.com

Subdivision of the Masses Philip Weigl

Brooks Kai Engel Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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 to consider the responses from others. In those early days, he was the classic antagonist, cocksure and loudmouthed, but also somewhat detached from the climbing scene at large. He was also only 16 at the time, but in many ways his obsession with the North Yorks Moors and new routing means that he is operating in his own scene.

Franco's early climbing career played out in an unusually public manner through the forums. A couple of months after his first post he went on a winter trip to Ben Nevis with friends Ian Jackson and Dave Warburton. It proved to be an eventful trip, with Franco being avalanched, an ascent of Point 5 gully and Dave being dropped a full rope length when Ian's belay ripped on an attempt at a variation to Smith's Route. Mike "Twid" Turner rescued Ian that day and wrote a short piece for UKClimbing detailing the incident and some lessons which could be learned from it.

Ian was a couple of years older than Franco and had become something of a mentor to him, introducing him to the wider climbing world. Twid's advice was considered and didn't name names. Franco responded angrily to the perceived criticism. He hadn't been on the mountain that day, but felt that facts were wrong and showed no inhibition in attacking people who thought otherwise. Ian responded calmly, correcting a couple of misconceptions and thanking Twid for helping him out.

Just four months later Ian was killed in an accident while threading a lower off on a sport route in Chamonix. He was just 19 and made one of those mistakes that we're all aware of, but that can be made so quickly and catastrophically.

Franco was in the Alps with a young team at the time. Losing his friend and mentor has had an understandably profound effect on him, but not necessarily in the ways you might expect. Rather than turning away from climbing he plunged headlong, often literally, into seeking out dangerous and difficult first ascents. His internet persona may have calmed down, but his appetite for unusual routes and not playing the game the way that's expected hasn't changed at all.

Factor Two is brought to you by Wil Treasure and UKClimbing.com

Music credits:

Featherlight (remix - Vocals by Heather Feather) Lee Rosevere A Bicycle Ride Through The Nation's Capitol (Lokin' Out) Honey Trappists Sad Marimba Planet Lee Rosevere Waiting for the Moment Lee Rosevere Muted Space Tajirius Blur the World Tajirius Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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 – onsighting E6 and E7 in North Wales and climbing with the likes of Tim Emmett, Neil Gresham and Leo Houlding.

In the last episode we heard from Leo about their ascent of El Niño on El Capitan – Leo's first big wall. Patch and Leo had travelled to Yosemite together, but while Leo was socialising at Camp Four and becoming part of the Yosemite scene it was Patch who was heading off trying to get better at the style of climbing there.

Patch met Ben Bransby for the first time in the valley. Encouraged by the Huber brothers the two of them set out to repeat Free Rider – the same route featured in Free Solo with Alex Honnold. They set off from the base of the wall to attempt it ground up, with no experience and borrowed gear and made an impressive effort. They didn't quite manage to free climb the route, but put in what was at the time the most impressive British attempt on El Capitan.

Under the wing of the Hubers, Patch talked Leo into attempting El Niño, telling him that he'd already done a 5.13a pitch and was convinced Leo would stand a chance of onsighting 5.13b. Plus the route would suit them – no crack climbing on this one, slabs and adventure climbing exactly like they'd been training on in the slate quarries and at Gogarth.

Patch's memories of those years climbing revolve around the community he became a part of, and the mentors who guided him. He still seems in awe of the fact that he could be a part of this scene where everyone was a hero to him. He didn't seem to realise that maybe he was one of them too.

Factor Two is brought to you by Wil Treasure and UKClimbing.com

Music credits:

Plantation Audionautix.com

Stiller Tag Philip Weigl

Aftermath Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)

Solo Acoustic Blues Audionautix.com

Autumn Sunset Audionautix.com

Subdivision of the Masses Philip Weigl

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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 any great ambitions for the big faces. They had intended to try to headpoint some bold, hard new lines, but quickly discovered that the sort of lines they were after didn't exist in Yosemite.

When they arrived there were just two free routes on the mai wall of the Captain. The Salathé Wall, freed by Paul Piana and Todd Skinner in 1988, and The Nose, freed by Lynn Hill in 1993. But the mid 90s saw a new team emerge – the Huber brothers. In the few years before Leo and Patch's trip the Hubers had started to establish themselves as a free climbing force in the valley.

In 1998 Alex and Thomas Huber made the first free ascent of El Niño. The Hubers employed seriously redpointing tactics to achieve their route, preparing each pitch meticulously before making their ascent. Taking Patch and Leo under their wing they encouraged them to try the route. It was still well chalked, the hardest climbing was in the first few pitches and their hand drawn topo was still fresh.

After borrowing the gear they would need and making up their big wall tactics as best they could over 5 days, Leo and Patch stood on the summit. Leo had managed to onsight all but one pitch, with Patch freeing many as well.

It was an astonishing achievement at the time, but even now El Capitan awaits a true onsight ascent.

Factor Two is brought to you by Wil Treasure and UKClimbing.com

Music credits:

Plantation Jason Shaw (audionautix.com)

Solo Acoustic Blues Jason Shaw (audionautix.com)

Porch Blues Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)

Subdivision of the Masses Philipp Weigl

Brookes Kai Engel

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Prompted by Franco Cookson's article on headpointing recently I thought I'd dig out this interview I recorded in November 2017 with Tim Lowe.

Tim is a climber from Yorkshire with an enviable ticklist of routes, including the Yorkshire Triple Crown of The Groove, Urgent Action and Supercool. Over the years he's been a keen sport climber, but Tim also likes to stick his neck out on trad routes. Back in 1992 he took a huge fall on The Cad, on North Stack Wall at Gogarth. A little hungover and not warmed up, he lunged for a break and didn't quite make it. He thought it was the end, but his belayer caught him. It put in Tim's mind the idea of "dropping a rope" down some of the more dangerous routes before going for the lead, resulting in broken bones at Ilkley in September 2017.

You can see photos from Ilkley on the links below:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.php?id=299700

https://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.php?id=299729

Factor Two is brought to you by Wil Treasure and UKClimbing.com

Music credits:

Reflections Lee Rosevere

Somnolence Kai Engel

Background 02 AccusonosSFX

Free Tone Textures Small Colin

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In the last two episodes we looked at aspects of flow, whether seeking the euphoria as an escape or chasing it as a performance tool. But there's an area of climbing where flow won't be enough. The objectives are too long, too complex and too unpredictable.

At altitude everything becomes harder, your muscles ache under the lack of oxygen and, as Rick Allen has found more than once, your mind can wander.

Rick is one of the world's most accomplished high altitude mountaineers. He's climbed several 8000m peaks, including a new route on the north face of Dhaulagiri. In 2012, together with Sandy Allan he made the first complete ascent of the Mazeno Ridge on Nanga Parbat. The Mazeno is the longest ridge on any 8000m peak, with more than 10km of climbing over eight 7000m summits before the final push. Rick and Sandy spent 18 days on the route, running out of food and water and pushing themselves to their menta and physical limits. The ascent won them a Piolet D'or in 2013, although Rick says the recognition from the climbers he respected was more valuable to him than an award.

Last July Rick was the subject of an unusual rescue on Broad Peak. After attempting the summit solo, he became disorientated on the descent. His hallucinations saw him discard his rucksack and take a fall down the face before he was spotted by a drone sent to search for him.

The episode has given him a chance to reflect on the risks he takes in the mountains and his partnership with Sandy, who told him in no uncertain terms that he'd made the wrong call on Broad Peak. Rick realised he needed that other voice to ground him, to help him see what was real. Yet he and Sandy are very different characters, chasing the same dreams.

For more information on their ascent of the Mazeno Ridge you could read Sandy Allan's excellent book, In Some Lost Place.

Factor Two is brought to you by Wil Treasure and UKClimbing.com

Music credits:

Arisandra Parvus Decree

Aspirato Kai Engel

Expectations Lee Rosevere

Run Kai Engel

Meekness Kai Engel

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Mina Leslie-Wujastyk has already established herself as one of the best sport climbers in the country, with redpoints up to 8c.

For the past few seasons she has been attempting Rainshadow, Steve McClure's iconic 9a at Malham. It's more than a step above her previous ascents, and initially something that it hadn't even occurred to her to try. It seemed too unfeasible.

When pushing the limit at some point you will find it. We often say this with risk taking, but the same is true when pushing your physical boundaries. Over time Mina has become more confident that she could successfully redpoint Rainshadow, but at first it was an impossible dream. Staying motivated for a few sessions on a route isn't hard; but staying motivated when your project enters double digits and multiple seasons isn't easy.

I wanted to understand how Mina stays focussed on a long term goal, and how she does that in the face of the chance that she might never succeed.

In the last episode with Dave Thomas we saw how a need for control, maintaining integrity and establishing your own identity were important. Finding ways to enter that elusive flow state was how Dave achieved this.

Mina isn't out for risk or resolving inner conflicts, but her story boils down to the same key features: desire, belief and understanding her own identity. The difference is that for Mina flow is a tool to be utilised.

Factor Two is brought to you by Wil Treasure and UKClimbing.com

Music credits:

Looking Back Lee Rosevere

Somnolence Kai Engel

Quit Bitching Broke For Free

Aspirato Kai Engel

Pulse Sioum

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The young Dave Thomas was motivated by one thing above all others – soloing. In his own words he's "Never climbed a hard route", but anyone looking at his climbing C.V. would beg to differ.

In 1989 he soloed the classic E6 Lord of the Flies at Dinas Cromlech. It wasn't a spur of the moment thing. He'd been putting the miles in on the Rubicon traverse in the weeks leading up to the day. In his mind he had set a date with destiny. He'd decided he wanted to do it, so he would. The logic here might seem strange to some; Dave had led the route 3 years earlier so he knew he could do it. That was enough. He showed up on Easter Sunday, waited for the streak of water running down the wall to dry, and flowed up the route. The experience has lived with him ever since as a joyful memory to draw upon.

But Lord wasn't Dave's most impressive ascent. The year before, on the back of a conversation with Crispin Waddy, he set out on what still stands as one of the most audacious solos the world has seen. He took in the first two, crux, pitches of Caveman at the Old Redoubt in Devon before veering off to create a new direct version, Terra Cotta. All of this solo.

John Redhead talked of having Authentic Desire in climbing dangerous routes. It was the thing which kept you safe, the honest reflection on your own motivations. I wanted to know if Dave experienced Authentic Desire for his ascents. The answer was a lot more complicated that I thought.

Factor Two is brought to you by Wil Treasure and UKClimbing.com

Music credits: Small Steps Lee Rosevere Soli Kai Engel All the Answers Lee Rosevere Silence Kai Engel Under Suspicion Lee Rosevere Evermore Kai Engel Very Low Note Kevin McLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

There's something both romantic and illogical about taking the ultimate risk in climbing; leaving the rope behind and going solo. Justifying that is a question which has always fascinated me. For many people it's such an absolute risk that the answer is easy, but I've always thought it was more grey than that. I've asked all of the climbers I've interviewed for this series the same question, about why we do it and how we justify the risks we take. It turns out that we're all motivated by similar things.

One day that motivation came back to bite me. I ended up on the deck at Froggatt, a fitting, bloodied mess for my friends to deal with. I'd always felt there was romance in risk, in doing the unthinkable. I never felt heroic. I wasn't out to prove myself and, if anything, I felt that to prove something would be to miss the point. That makes it about someone else and this was my thing.

I questioned all of this after my accident; with other people clearing up the mess this was no longer just about me. Among the letters I was sent by friends afterwards was a booklet of stories written by John Kendrick. John is a bit of a hero of mine. He's the honorary president of my old university club and over the years we've met up a few times for a drink or a climb and exchange letters and postcards. While I was coming to terms with the trauma I'd put friends and family through I read John's story of his own solo endeavours in the Peak District. He would have been the same age as me then. What surprised me was that while I'd been obsessing over the idea that soloing was a very personal thing, John had taken this risk for the most frivolous of reasons: to win the attentions of a beautiful woman.

In this episode James McHaffie and Katy Forrester recount their own close calls soloing, while John explains why he took the risks himself and why he's so ashamed of what he did all those years ago.

Factor Two is brought to you by Wil Treasure and UKClimbing.com

Music credits: Brand New World Kai Engel Denouement Kai Engel Meekness Kai Engel Remedy for Melancholy Kai Engel Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Katy Forrester is a former member of the British bouldering and ice climbing teams. She's a fell runner and an accomplished trad and sport climber, with routes up to 7c+ and E8 under her belt. She also has a black dog. Katy is open in talking about her experience of depression and how she tackled her metaphorical black dog with a real one - a 5 month old labrador called Jade. In this episode Katy talks about her experience of dealing with depression. As a naturally competitive person she became frustrated at being unable to perform to the level she wanted, her frustration turned to self-loathing and what had started as a positive experience became something she realised she needed to walk away from. I was curious; there's a mental resolve and mindset needed to be successful in competition climbing, but also in hard headpointing, which is what Katy turned to for her fix. How can someone have such difficulties in one aspect of their mental life but be so strong in others? Katy talks about how learning coping mechanisms to deal with aspects of her depression has also brought benefits in her approach to hard climbing.

Katy is sponsored by Eden Rock climbing centre and Scarpa. You can read her blogpost at http://katyforrester.com/i-had-a-black-dog/. If you or someone you know is affected by the issues discussed in this episode help is available. You can contact the Samaritans on 116123, seek a referal through your GP to NHS mental health services, or you can go to ntw.nhs.uk/selfhelp where you'll find an array of self help guides dealing with depression, anxiety, bereavement and other mental health problems.

Factor Two is brought to you by UKClimbing.com

Music credits: Odyssey Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) March Kai Engel Somnolence Kai Engel Brand New World Kai Engel Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/