Sport routes

First 9a route in Norway.

The first 8c+ in the USA.

References

[1] https://open.spotify.com/episode/30qPube60E0HHtsSacKlHF

Initially given 9a which would have made Adam Ondra's 2012 ascent the first onsight of the grade. However Adam felt the route was more 8c+ and Daniel Woods, who flashed the route on the same day, agreed.

Generally considered to be 8c+/9a.

Climber:

Mecca (8b+) Mecca and the three extensions – Mecca Extension (8c), Hajj (8c) and Kaabah (F8c+) were all first done by Steve McClure between 1998 and 2004. Mecca Extension is reckoned to be the more accommodating of the three and it’s been popular ever since it was first done. Hajj is said to be much harder and perhaps not surprisingly it hasn’t attracted the attention that its siblings have and has had few repeats. Steve’s ascent of Kaabah came during the 2004 Petzl Roc Trip on an especially sunny day in late summer.

[…]

The route starts up Mecca but swings out right where the original routes swings left to the half-height lower-off. Incidentally, this alternative was first bolted by Simon Reed as an alternative and slightly harder finish to Mecca itself. From the shake-out roughly level with the Mecca lower-off, Kaabah kicks-in with a hard, crimpy sequence up the headwall to a junction with Mecca Extension in a shallow corner up which it finishes. Gaining and climbing the hanging corner on Mecca Extension is the crucial section on Kaabah where the difficulty of the climbing is further exacerbated by hard clips.

References

[1] https://www.climber.co.uk/news/pete-whittaker-talks-about-his-repeat-of-kaabah/

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]

References

[1] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/ben-moon-repeats-evolution-jerry-moffatt-8c-plus-raven-tor.html

[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/steve_mcclure_the_evolution_of_man-16947

Originally a project of Mark Leach's before Steve McClure took up the reins and made the first ascent.