Tommy Caldwell and Connor Herson Team Up for El Capitan
The two veteran hard-trad climbers both free-climbed the Heart Route, a 31-pitch 5.13b over three days
Tommy Caldwell and Connor Herson have climbed the Heart Route in Yosemite all free. It was first climbed by Mason Earle and Brad Gobright in 2015. It climbs through a heart-shaped feature on the southwest face of El Capitan.
Caldwell and Herson spent three days climbing the 31-pitch 5.13b that has a crux dyno. Caldwell climbed the route in 2023 with Alex Honnold, during which Caldwell did not free every pitch, while Honnold did.
It was first climbed by Chuck Kroger and Scott Davis over seven days in April 1970 at VI 5.9 A4 as one of the first routes on El Capitan. In 2001, Alex Huber and Thomas Huber used the upper section of the route to create Golden Gate. Earle freed the entire route while Gobright freed everything except for the crux dyno according to Alpinist, which stated, “Technically, the crux of the free Heart Route is pitch six, where Earle threw himself across a long stretch of blank rock, completing the V10 ‘gnarly sideways dyno.’ It is a move he called ‘turbo fuck: if you’re not six-feet tall with a big reach, you can’t reach the holds.’ Gobright was unable to complete this one 10-foot section, but other than that the climbers swung leads.”
Also this year in Yosemite National Park, Herson made the second ascent of New Leaf 5.13d trad, redpointed Magic Line 5.14c trad, made the first ascent of Resurrection 5.13d 9p (interview), and the second ascents of Circus Circus 5.14a and Inner Peace 5.14a. This summer, Herson spent the summer in Squamish, making FAs of Midnight Way 5.15a and The Shark 5.14- trad, and repeating SX4 5.14c, Gunslinger 5.14- trad, and The Prow Wall 5.14a, among many others.
