There was a good artical here using a tactic to climb through ladders using rapid up/down joystick movement in hopes of clearing L=22-1. (BurgerTime has a similar trick, when tapping the joystick up in rapid fashon, Peter Pepper climbs the ladders faster than normal.....for you BurgerTime fans)
I tried this DK ladder trick and with a joystick,its tough on the wrist but do-able, however even when done flawlessly there still is not enough time to reach the top before the Kill Screen kicks in.
I'm sure some of you already know this but to those that don't, the DK L=22-1 Kill screen is clearable.....when using the original Japan set 3 roms.
Level= 22-2 (pie factory) is clearable but does have a short timer and you cannot really play for points (Kill screen effect sets in when the bonus is abut 3600.
Level=22-3 (Elevator) is also clearable but again does have a short timer ..........The springs , or "spring" rather, are SUPER Slow..only "one" spring bounces out every few seconds.....nothing like L=4 and up.
Level=22-4 (Rivets) This would be the actual "Kill Screen"....there is not enough time to pull all 8 rivets even if the foxfires were abscent....6 rivets is about it. When the bonus timer reaches about 3600 the kill screen kicks in.