Sam Daulton does Empath 8c+ (9a) also on trad

Sam Daulton, who earlier this year sent his first 8c+, has repeated Carlo Traversi’s Empath (9a+) in Tahoe (CA), twice. First he sent it as a sport climb, ”might only be 8c”, and later on trad gear. ”Came back and did it without the bolts. 2nd ascent on gear. All natural pro, all placed on lead. So fun! Not sure about the grade, but definitely a little harder than on bolts… I dialed in the jams, it is certainly much harder without jams.” (c) Sean Haverstock

Traversi suggested 9a+ which was confirmed multiple times before it was downgraded by Ethan Pringle doing it with climbing gloves. Later Connor Herson sent it both on bolts and later did the FA on trad gear, without commenting the grade. ”I was able to jam my way past the three of the four cruxes on the route, making each of them substantially easier. I did not wear any tape or crack gloves for the send.”

This summer, Tommy Caldwell (46) did it on bolts. ”With the way I used my trad-dad skills to get it done—it’s probably more like 8c.”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
When Carlo established Empath in 2020, I remember thinking it was one of Tahoe’s most inspiring lines—and immediately writing it off, since I don’t climb 5.15 [9a+] I didn’t try the route until this year.

One of the things I love most about climbing is confronting challenges that initially seem impossible and slowly realizing they might just be possible after all. Interestingly, 2020 was also the year I began crack and trad climbing on Donner Summit. Five years later, I still don’t climb 5.15—but I’ve picked up a new skill set. Those techniques transformed what once felt like a pipe dream into something that was within my wheelhouse. That shift made this process one of the coolest experiences I have had with a route.

I first tried the route twice in the summer of 2025, but only managed one attempt each session due to limited time. Even so, the line stuck with me—steep, immaculate granite with striking features. In the fall, I committed to giving it a proper effort, getting out as consistently as I could while working full time—using some vacation to get out during some afternoons.

October weather in Tahoe is hit or miss, and I pulled my draws just before a storm dropped a foot of snow on the Sierra Crest. Fortunately, it melted quickly, and shortly after, I redpointed the route on bolts. All told, it took nine sessions, including the two summer days.

Even before sending it on bolts, I was curious about climbing the route on gear. Difficult trad climbing is one of my favorite styles because of the added complexity—choosing placements, deciding when to run it out, and managing the mental side alongside the physical. Since the temperatures were dropping and the season was winding down, I went out to micro-traxion the route to suss the gear. I redpointed it on gear 3 sessions later in November, wrapping up a wild process on a dream route right before another Sierra deluge!

Big thanks to Carlo for establishing such a beautiful line, to my partner Sara for the support, to Sean for filming, and to all my climbing partners along the way!

As for the grade, the route felt more manageable once I dialed in the jams, it is certainly much harder without jams. With my beta, I don’t think it is harder than 8c+ on bolts, although 8c is probably a sandbag. Climbing it on gear adds time in strenuous positions to place gear, which certainly increases the difficulty, but I’m not sure it bumps the letter grade. Connor is much more well-equipped to grade this than me, so I largely defer to him :).