Dave Birkett repeats the Walk of Life

A few days ago British climber Dave Birkett moved south from his Lakelands stronghold to make the third ascent of The Walk of Life, the immaculate slab route first ascended by James Pearson in September 2008 at Dyer's Lookout, North Devon, England.

The route received a second ascent in January 2009 by Dave Macleod from Scotland who downgraded the route to E9 6c, a view which Birkett now shares. His successful climb came about on his 4th day working the route and in an interview with UKClimbing.com's Mick Ryan the 42-year-old described the line as follows: "It's a stunning looking wall and an amazing feature. Then when I actually got there, at the base of the route, I knew I just had to do the route. It's in an amazing location. When everything settles down as regards the grade and the hype that surrounds it, it will be heralded as a modern extreme classic of the 21st Century. The Cenotaph Corner of Devon."

For those less familiar with British climbing history: Cenotaph Corner is located on Dinas Cromlech in Wales and was famously first climbed by Joe Brown in 1952 in wet conditions wearing nothing but socks. The route stands as a lasting testament to Brown's outstanding brilliance and this E1 is arguably the most famous and aspired to trad route in Britain of all times. Quite a comparison therefore!