Connor Herson Climbs Magic Line in Yosemite
This is the fifth known ascent of the 5.14 trad route first climbed by Ron Kauk
Connor Herson has climbed Magic Line, a 35-metre 5.14 crack near Vernal Falls in Yosemite. First climbed by Ron Kauk in 1996, it was repeated by his son Lonnie Kauk in 2016, by Hazel Findlay in 2019, and by Carlo Traversi in 2021. It’s been graded 5.14b and 5.14c.
Since freeing The Nose on El Capitan when he was 15, Herson has become one of the world’s leading gear climbers. Earlier this year, Herson made the second ascent of New Leaf 5.13d trad in Yosemite – watch here. He then made the first ascent of The Shark 5.14 trad and Midnight Way 5.15a sport, both in Squamish. Last week, he reported that he onsighted a 5.14 crack in Washington called Prayer for a Friend.
In late August 2023, he made the second ascent of Blackbeard’s Tears 5.14c in northern California. Prior to that, he was in Squamish where he climbed Cobra Crack 5.14 trad, Crack of Destiny 5.14 trad, Stélmexw 5.13+, and Tainted Love 5.13+ trad. After arriving back in California and sending Blackbeard’s Tears, he made the first free ascent of Hairline, a 13-pitch 5.13+ up Mount Whitney.
Herson joins Traversi as the only climbers to have sent both Meltdown 5.14c and Magic Line 5.14 in Yosemite. We’ll have a feature story on Herson in the December/January issue of Gripped magazine.
Traversi on Magic Line
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