Jim Pope has made the third ascent of Pete Whittaker's Dynamics of Change (E9 7a).

Dynamics of Change was first climbed by an extremely young and talented Pete Whittaker, who made the ascent back in 2009 - aged just 16. The ascent was groundbreaking in many ways, not least because of how hard it was, but also because it signalled the arrival of Pete as a major player in the UK climbing scene. Two years later, Pete, partnered with Tom Randall, made the first ascent of Century Crack, which cemented his reputation on the global scene.

Jim's ascent was the third after Neil 'Nige' Kershaw's repeat in 2014, which was included within the film Gritual, and features one of the nicest jumpers ever to be worn in a climbing video. In the 11 years that have now passed since the second ascent, Dynamics of Change has received some attention, including an abortive attempt by Ian Cooper, but the third ascent had remained elusive.

Jim had this to say:

"Really chuffed to get the third ascent of this iconic @petewhittaker01 route this morning! Great vision from Pete, especially at 16! The footage of Nige on the second ascent is one of my favourite climbing clips that I watched loads when I was younger. Little Jim never would have thought he'd be up there one day!"

Jim is no stranger to hard (and bold) Grit, having climbed a whole host of the classics including Meshuga (E9 6c), Appointment with Death (E9 6c), The Zone (E9 6c), MaDMAn (E8 6b) and his own Gritstone E9 - Polar Front (E9 6c). He's not bad at bouldering either, with ascents of The Ace (f8B), The Boss (f8B+), and the first ascent of Kindred (f8B+).

We also approach Pete about the route, and Jim's repeat, and he had this to say:

"I'm flipping well psyched that it's been repeated again. I think Jim did it really quickly too - he went on it one day, then came back and did it the next, but Jim is a beast isn't he?!

I remember when I did that route, back in 2007/8. At the time I didn't think it was that crazy, at least not in terms of the boldness, but the heel move - in particular. I didn't think it would become this thing, 17 years later, and it really has become this quite iconic move. That clip of me climbing it,  everyone seems to remember. At the time I didn't really think it was anything, other than a hard ascent for my ability at the time, but I didn't think it was going to become the route it is now that so many people know about all over the world. 

I still find it quite interesting it hasn't been done more, but it's also nice it's stood the test of time, and isn't totally straightforward, and you do have to be mentally prepared for it (and have a fricking flexible hip). 

Nice one to Jim, really psyched, Jim is great"