It apparently took Paul Reeve 7 years to climb Mecca (the mid life crisis). Mecca is 8b+ and no matter how long it took him to do it, he did it and its a great effort. When I was 15 (or 16) I first visited Raven Tor and the climbing scene was very centered around sport climbing. It was massively in vogue to go bolt clipping and pulling on small holds and Raven tor was the place to be, although perhaps not as an incompetent (but keen 15 year old) whose ticklist thus far was well, er nothing. Anyway, in my logic as Pump up the power was short it would be allright. Obviously, the reason you fall off routes is because you are pumped - that I might not be able to do the moves didnt even enter into it. Anyway, I couldnt do any of the moves (as far as I remember) but the seed was sewn and I was keen. A couple of years later at 18 I was back at the Tor with Ian Fitzpatrick once more trying and failing to do any of the route. Ian did do it that time and I was hugely impressed. More years passed but I now had a grasp on reality and didnt really try it again, not until last November at least. Then I worked a sequence and thought it could go but the rain started and once more, that was that...

Pump up is a very short, sharp route climbed first by Ben Moon in the 80's. Starting in a massive slot thats also on the powerband you make a lurching move to another big slot - these are both massive, but theres something unpleasant about your body position through this move that makes it sort of wierd - not hard really, just wierd. Having gained this second bomber slot you stick your foot on the corner of the first one and roll round to a left hand sidepull 'ear'. Smear the left foot under the roof and right hand bumps to an intemediate then again a pinchy hold - pause here, then look past your hand to the infamous nobble hold (kind of a splayed finger hold where the thumb comes up between the fingers), set your gaze on where you must deadpoint and quickly make the move! its all either on or off at this point - you cant effectively adjust and really if its not right you should save yourself the effort of trying to pull it out if you havent held the nobble right. Adjust the feet, match, another foot move and the left hand moves to a rubbish sharp tiny, slight adjustment of body position before making the crux move to a right hand gaston. Assuming you've held this right - and I did fall with my hand on here a few times, a not too bad move to a good edge brings the hard climbing to an end - phew! Yesterday when I reached this point I knew I was in and that I had done it and that I wouldnt fall from there, so I clipped off this edge thing - theres a jug off left! why I didnt move I dont know, just wanted to get it done I suppose. Anyway, having gained the good rail you rumble off to the top and thats it - 8a+ archetypal power climbing ticked!

Here is a picture of Zippy on it from The power of climbing :

Technically thats taken 15 years to do! Quite pleased but not as ecstatic as when I did low left press. Anyway, I was going to wax on about the time to do it and the levels then and now and so on, but theres a really good thread on UKB that says it all.