Connor Herson ticks Magic Line (8c+) trad

Connor Herson has repeated the 35 meter granite crack Magic Line (8c+) in Yosemite (CA). In 1996, Ron Kauk sent it with pre-placed gear and then his son Lonnie did it in the same ”pink-point” style in 2016. Two years later Lonnie did the first clean ascent and upgraded it to 8c+ due to the added difficulty placing the gear.

Connor first gained attention in 2018 by sending an 8c+ on his second attempt at just 14 years old. That same year, he also repeated The Nose (8b+) and placed 11th in the Youth World Championship. Since then, he has emerged as one of the top trad and big wall climbers in the world.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
I first tried magic line in December of last year, shortly after I sprained my ankle so I was wearing oversized shoes and just checking out moves on toprope. Then I returned for a weekend in January - on my second day I tried it on lead and fell at the very top! I thought I would do it quickly, but I returned a few more times that season and didn’t get good conditions again, and soon the waterfall was too high and its spray was reaching the climb.

This fall, I returned to the valley with magic line as my primary objective. My first day I had a solo session toprope soloing on it, then the next day I decided to give a lead try, and somehow I sent it! It felt very flowy but insecure on the send go — I was executing the moves well, but I was very pumped and every foot placement felt like it was going to slip. I was confident I’d fall almost until the moment I clipped the chains!