Dave Birkett added to his tally of jaw dropping lines on The East Buttress at the weekend. The new line weighs in at E9 6c (F8a+ climbing) and goes up the overhanging wall between 'Welcome to the Cruel World' and 'Overhanging Grooves'. There is one in-place nut which, Dave says would be impossible to place on lead. When asked if the falling would be certain death, Dave commented: “there are bits you really don't want to fall off”. So I guess we'll take that as everything above the first 2 moves.

The route is called 'Return of the King' which Dave says is in keeping with Scafell's Lord of the Rings theme but we suspect it has more to do with Dave's music tastes.