Pete Dawson has made an ascent of Stevolution (9a) at Raven Tor (Miller's Dale).

The route, which links Evolution (8c+) into the end of Kaabah (8c+), was first climbed by Steve McClure in 2008, who told UKC at the time:

'Having heard Evolution itself had lost a crucial hold I was inspired to re-climb it, and continue onwards. In these difficult times of credit crunch and grade confusion I think it's important to take grades very seriously and get them absolutely exactly right. The new link climbs Evolution at F8c+ before blasting up the desperate crimpy wall, at around F8b'.

'Considering the height of the route and the reduction in gravity, as well as the loss of a crucial hold meaning there may be fewer moves, the grade comes down to a lofty F8c. However, the grade is also dependant on sponsorship requirement levels and thus varies from F8b to F9a+. I should also point out that there was a bouldering pad somewhere nearby'.

Since Steve's vague offering of somewhere between 8b and 9a+, the route has seen repeats from Ryan Pasquill, Toby Roberts, Will Bosi, and Felix Wilkins, and the grade has settled at 9a.

Pete first tried Evolution in 2019, but didn't begin trying the link-up until he made an ascent of Kaabah last year. Speaking to UKC shortly after the ascent, Pete had the following to say:

'I probably first tried Stevolution back in like 2019 or something because it starts up Evolution. Back then I think I wasn't interested in trying to extend it. Last year I did Kaabah for the first time and loved the climbing up there and straight away tried to do it from Evolution. After that I was hooked, because once I pick up a route I don't want to put it down'. 

'I probably had fifteen or so sessions in 2024 on cool spring and autumn days. It was a proper epic, I dropped the Kabaah section three times, which is about 8b on its own, but after climbing 8c+ you really should have it in the bag. One evening in Spring I went to the crag sure I would do it but instead split a tip and came back down dripping blood. One other morning in Autumn I arrived at the crag and people were leaving because it was so wet, I thought it was worth a go anyway, and again dropped the top'.

'The route gets wet over the Winter so I had to have a forced break from it. I knew though that as soon as it dried I'd go back for it, and I wanted to be in good enough shape to do it fast. Fast-forward to early March and the route was almost dry, so I went back to try and do it. I tried it three times in one week to relearn the moves'.

'The day I did the route was cold and I went with my friend Henry and his dog Ollie. I knew I had a good shot and I desperately didn't want to fall on the top wall again. My final redpoint attempt was about as stressful as they get, because my fingers went numb so I couldn't feel any holds, and I sat at the halfway rest trying to get some feeling back into them before trying to do the top. This meant I couldn't rest as well and was way more pumped as I went for the top. Lucky the cold temps worked in my favour and my hands stuck to the rock like glue'. 

'Next up for me is there are a few more 9a's to try, and then there is Mutation (9a+) - my big nemesis!'

Stevolution is Pete's fifth route at 9a, and his first since climbing Northern Lights (9a) in 2022.