Late last year, Dave MacLeod made the third ascent of Malcolm Smith's Hunger (9a) on The Anvil, Loch Goil. Dave was working the route in 2007 when a crucial hold broke off on the crux section, stopping his progress whilst the route was still a project. In 2010, Malcolm Smith made the first ascent in its current state. In 2019, Dave returned with a fresh set of eyes.

Dave spent several sessions working the moves and the crux section in 2018 and spent the following year training specifically. After his ascent, Dave told UKC:

'I still can't believe that I have actually done it. For such a large part of the process, it just seemed so, so far above my level that I really struggled to have my own vision to think that I ever was going to be able to do it. I've spent the last few years going back around some old projects that I'd previously given up on because they were too hard for me. This was the biggest and the last of them. It's a chapter I've gone through and now I need to go and find some more projects.'

Chris Prescott of Dark Sky Media has made a short film of the ascent. The beautifully shot short examines Dave's motivations and process on the route: