Jerry Moffatt's hardest and final route at Raven Tor, blasting up a line of punishing crimps. Ben Moon, who repeated the route aged 52:
A classic Ravens Tor [sic] route, only 10m long but basically sustained bouldering all the way. Probably hard Font 8a into hard route 8b with no rests and a heartbreak dyno to finish. [1]
Fellow steel-fingered Tor veteran Steve McClure:
Another great name from Jerry; he grabbed most of the best names, in part because he was first in the queue. This one was named after the progression of climbing at the crag, as it evolved from Sardine (7b+) and Body Machine (7c+) into the cutting edge of world standards. […] [2]
[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/steve_mcclure_the_evolution_of_man-16947
15 successful ascents recorded.
| Climber | Style | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Moffatt | Lead | worked | 13th May 1995 | ||
| First ascent. | ||||
| Malcolm Smith | Lead | worked | 13th May 1995-1st January 1996 | ||
| Second ascent. | ||||
| Nic Sellars | Lead | worked | 13th May 1995-1st January 1996 | 8c | |
| Third ascent. | ||||
|
Date is a bit of a guess. Nic's suggested downgrade may be related to some frustration with first ascentionist Jerry Moffatt nipping in to also make the first ascent of Progress, a line Nic had put a number of sessions into. [1] References[1] https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,33869.msg697792.html#msg697792 |
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| Steve McClure | Lead | worked | 8th Nov 1996 | ||
| 6 sessions. | ||||
|
From Steve's diary:
References[1] Footage of a much later ascent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBxwQ--odXg. [2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/steve_mcclure_the_evolution_of_man-16947 |
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| Richard Simpson | Lead | worked | 1st Apr 2005 | 8c | |
|
In the context of his other claims it is unclear whether this ascent happened. |
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| Ryan Pasquill | Lead | worked | 29th Nov 2009 | ||
| Alex Megos | Lead | worked | 3rd Jun 2016 | ||
| Third go. | ||||
| Will Bosi | Lead | worked | 4th Jul 2017 | ||
| Third go. | ||||
| Stuart Littlefair | Lead | worked | 24th Oct 2018 | ||
| Ben Moon | Lead | worked | 24th Nov 2018 | ||
| Mat Wright | Lead | worked | 21st Sep 2019 | ||
References |
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| Pete Dawson | Lead | worked | 18th Nov 2019 | ||
References |
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| Ethan Walker | Lead | worked | 4th Oct 2021 | ||
| Toby Roberts | Lead | worked | 6th Nov 2021 | ||
References |
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| Felix Wilkins | Lead | worked | 2nd Apr 2022 | ||