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- Fifteen years ago, in September 2008, a 22-year-old James Pearson seemed to make history when he did the first ascent of The Walk of Life, a sparsely protected 120-foot slab on England’s North Devon coast, and called it the world’s first E12.*
www.climbing.com/people/james-pearsons-fraught-history-e12/James Pearson's Fraught History with the E12 Grade - Climbing
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An indirect line called Dyer Straits was originally climbed by Ian Vickers that used a lot of pegs (although the pegs were not placed by Vickers) [2]. James Pearson then removed the pegs and added a direct start suggesting the lofty grade of E12.
In 2008 James courted controversy when he established The Walk of Life at Dyers Lookout and gave it the unprecedented grade of E12, suggesting it was harder than any other route in the UK at the time. The route is now considered E9, and on reflection James has admitted the route was not in his style which is why it felt as hard as it did for him.
Aug 12, 2019 · On the rugged north Devon coastline, near the town of Bude, he risked life and limb to scale a 45-metre-tall cliff, known as 'The Walk of Life', without any safety protection for the first part of the climb.
Aug 30, 2023 · The Walk of Life Debacle. He’s undoubtedly a strong climber, but in years past, Pearson was also somewhat controversial. He’s been lambasted by many in the UK scene for an inflated grade on one of his earliest hard FAs, The Walk of Life. Pearson proposed E12 7a ; the line was eventually sliced down to E9.
Dec 14, 2023 · In 2008, Pearson famously made the first ascent of The Walk of Life and graded it E12 7a, the hardest grade ever given to a route. Dave MacLeod made the second ascent and down-graded it to E9. Pearson was subject to ridicule by countless armchair climbers who berated his over grading.
Dec 15, 2023 · James Pearson in The Walk Of Life, the route for which he received a lot of criticism from the British climbing community with his rating of E12: Image: David Simmonite. When I climbed The Walk of Life and told you it was the hardest thing I'd ever done, I really meant it.
