Connor Herson Just Hiked ‘Cobra Crack’ and 5 Other Squamish Testpieces
When Connor Herson clipped the chains on Spirit Quest (5.14d) earlier this month, he wrapped up an outrageous month of granite climbing in Squamish, BC. Spirit Quest was the twenty-year-old’s seventieth 5.14. It was preceded by rapid ascents of The Crack of Destiny (5.14b, trad), Cobra Crack (5.14b, trad), Spirit of The West (5.14a, sport), Tainted Love (5.13d R, trad), and a flash of Stélmexw (5.13c, sport). He also nearly onsighted The Shadow (5.13a), which ended with “an annoying foot slip.” Mind-blowing. Myself and the Squamish community at large have made too many jokes about Connor Herson dispatching our projects in a few tries; the world needs an interview about this!
I climbed with Herson once this spring in Indian Creek, and a handful of times in Squamish this summer. He struck me as someone who is obsessed with climbing and very much views climbing as a craft: His beta is almost always unique, and if there is a no-hands rest on a rock climb, Connor Herson will find it. For example, his Cobra Crack beta was not the traditional mono, but rather an individualized version of Sonnie Trotter’s beta used on the first free ascent. On The Crack of Destiny, Herson found (and used) an improbable no hands bat-hang before the redpoint crux—rock climbing, a craft.
In many ways, Herson’s summer in Squamish was like that of any other college student. He was obsessed with climbing, psyched on scoring free food, and was struggling with his skin on the sharp granite.
Only this time, the college student who spent summer break in a Subaru that has a slow leak in the front-right tire isn’t some kid recounting his forty-footer on Angel’s Crest. It is Connor Herson, and he’s on a rampage. A quiet, normal, absolutely ridiculous rampage. Our conversation was edited for clarity and length.
“This is my first time climbing outdoors outside of the US. It makes me realize that there is so much good rock out there [laughs].”
Climbing: How long was your trip?
Herson: It was initially supposed to be a month. It has been about five weeks now. I got here at the start of July. The first week or so I didn’t really send anything; conditions were bad and I was getting used to the area. It felt like a bit of a smackdown. Then something just kind of clicked.
Tainted Love (5.13d R)
Herson: I did Tainted Love on my birthday, July 8. It took me two days. That one was cool. I’ve actually never whipped on a nut before [that wasn’t fixed], but that pitch is all RPs! It was a mental challenge! I rehearsed it on top rope and sent it my first go on lead, so I guess I’ve kept that streak alive.
Climbing: You said you felt like you weren’t having a successful climbing year up to that point, and that Tainted Love was a big confidence boost.
Herson: Yeah, this spring I was busy with school. The weather was bad. I was struggling to go climbing at all, and when I did I was in my head. I tried The Carbondale Short Bus [5.14a R] this spring and felt like I could do it, but just didn’t. There were a number of situations like that all spring. Coming into this trip—especially after getting smacked down the first week—I was like “Oh man, this is still happening.” Doing Tainted Love felt like a relief, almost.
I think I just felt grateful to be able to try hard, to have time, to be able to focus, and to push myself without mental barriers or doubt. I felt grateful just to be able to go for it.
Climbing: What changed in terms of mental barriers and doubts?
Herson: Not having school was huge. There were no distractions. Being in a new area and climbing on this amazing route [Tainted Love.] I was just fully immersed in the climbing. The rock is amazing. And I was up there with Brent [Barghan]; he’s such good energy. We were having a great time. It reminded me why I love climbing.
Cobra Crack (5.14b)
Herson: Cobra took me four days. My first session on Cobra, it was a really hot day. It was humid. It was still. The holds felt slimy. Going up that day I was like, “Maybe I’ll give it a flash go, but I didn’t make it very far on my flash go, just into the flake [the first crux.]” That session I realized that I couldn’t fit the mono [a single-finger jam that is the most commonly used beta mid-route.] I was trying with my index finger instead of my middle finger. I got a few gobies that day; overall, pretty discouraging.
After Tainted Love, I came back and conditions were way nicer, and I was more confident. That day, I found a way to do the mono with just the tip of my middle finger. I linked from below the mono to the top and just thought “Oh I’ll try to send it next go.” I fell pretty low down on that go, and I couldn’t do the mono move again. So I started experimenting with Sonnie’s [Trotter] beta in order to skip the mono. [Trotter switched his hands in the set-up for the mono beta, and did a long, powerful move to a finger lock just past the mono hold.] I found that I could do that. It was maybe a bit more powerful but it was so much higher percentage. I got really psyched on that beta.
I went back the next day and I learned that two days in a row on Cobra is not the way. I made no progress. My skin was bad and I had to tape. I learned that I should just let my skin heal so I can try it with no tape.
I took a rest day, and climbed at Paradise Wall for two days—I actually did Queen Bee (5.13c) and Spirit of The West (5.14a) during those two days—and then took another rest day and came back to Cobra.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I had my beta. I decided to just tape my right pinky and nothing else. That day, I got to the crux from the ground, and then I got through it. I got to the lock that you invert off of, and my tape started sliding. I did the invert, tape still sliding, and then, doing the last left hand move, the tape fully slid. I fell.
I decided for my next go I’d take the risk and not tape at all. I ended up sending. It was a risk—I actually got two gobies—but it paid off. Thankfully I did it—I would’ve had to take a week off of the Cobra with those gobies!
Climbing: What’s that like for you, to come here and climb this iconic route, and to do it fast. What do you make of that?
Herson: It is really special. Growing up, I saw all the videos on that route. One of my favorite videos of all time is the Mason Earle video. That route was on my life list, and at the top of my list going into this trip. It was a dream line. It always has been. Realizing that it was a climb that I could do and not just a route I thought was amazing… that is really cool. That feeling of growing up, seeing a climb that feels next level, and then progressing to a point where it’s possible.
I heard from a lot of people that it was super sharp and heinous on your skin. What I learned from climbing on it was that the sharpness adds to the experience. It was less painful than I expected, especially after the first few days. You can sort of use the crystals to your advantage!
Stélmexw (5.13c, five pitches)
Herson: The day after I sent Cobra I went back to Paradise and started trying Spirit Quest. Third day on, I went up to Stélmexw. The plan was just to check it out. No expectations. Jesse [Huey] had been very vague about the grade, he said he thought it could be 13a or 14a, and settled on 13+. We were more planning on checking it out and trying to do it the next day rather than doing it in a day.
I slipped on one of the 5.11 approach pitches which was annoying. I lowered and redpointed it. Whatever. Anyway, we got up to the crux pitch, that corner, and Brent [Barghan] chalked some holds and hung the draws. He was like, “Connor, you should try to flash this.”
And, yeah, I flashed it.
I was surprised. The important detail about that pitch is it is this perfect stemming corner. It isn’t really sequential. You don’t really have to learn a sequence.
Climbing: It is kind of interesting that you flashed that, but didn’t onsight The Shadow, which is easier on paper.
Herson: Yeah, that’s just how it goes on corners like that. There’s such an element of luck to doing climbs first go. On The Shadow, I felt solid and all of a sudden I was off. On Stélmexw I didn’t feel as solid, but I stayed on. It is fickle and risky, but it is nice when it works out. Brent sent second go, with shoes that were too big. That was really cool to watch. He had to work for it. I could tell that it was a pitch where if he had good shoes he would’ve hiked it, but his feet were sliding all over the footholds and he still did it.
We both did the 12c exit pitch first go. It was a crazy day. A great day.
The Crack of Destiny (5.14b)
Herson: It is perfect. It looks straight out of Indian Creek. My first reaction was “Why wasn’t this done earlier?” I was surprised that no one had given it a really focused effort until Didier [Berthod], cause it is such a beautiful climb. As soon as I sent Cobra though (and my skin healed) I switched my focus to Crack of Destiny.
My first session, I thought the moves were easier than Cobra but it was so much more sustained, and it was really hard to remember a sequence. In that sense it was very different from Cobra; having a sequence is really important. Destiny breaks down into a hard, thin crux at the bottom, and then easier climbing that gradually ramps up, culminating in the crux transition back into North Star. The route stands out because it is such a uniform crack: I probably didn’t climb the route the same way twice!
I was able to get through the first two thirds without a sequence but I really had to have one in the upper third. The next day, I found a really good sequence up there, and got through the entire crack. Climbing through it didn’t feel that hard. I got into the resting jug on North Star, and I thought I was recovering. But wow, that crux on North Star [V8] was so much harder than I thought it would be. When I did North Star alone the crux felt quite easy, I got there totally fresh. But that wasn’t the case on Destiny. I got into the top boulder and the pump went from 0 to 100 and I hit the second last hold with my fingers opening. There was no saving that. I fell on the last move.
I went back three days later with you [Nat Bailey] and Ben [Harnden]. It was such a good day. I knew I could get through the crack. It went really nicely. I was able to workout a bat-hang in the North Star rest and was able to recover enough. It felt really really nice. Harder than when I just did North Star, but it felt like I had some margin. It was just such good energy, with you and Ben. I remember hitting that final jug on the lip of the Chief and everyone was so psyched. I was psyched you two were there. The energy was so good. It was just a great day.
Spirit Quest (5.14d)
Herson: I think Spirit Quest was six days all in. The first session I got it in three sections. I was there with Connor [Runge] and he was psyched, had great beta, and it was such a good day. I had a session where I didn’t feel like I made progress, but then on my third day I fell getting back into Spirit of The West, [quite high on the route]. Then I fell way lower on my next session. Lots of ups and downs.
But man, what a route. I thought maybe it would be just a heinous, short, direct start into Spirit of The West, but there is a lot of independent climbing. Just a lot of V8-V10 climbing with no really good rests. Sustained, good climbing. It is really technical; a lot of the moves you can do when you’re pumped because you’re on your feet, but you still get really pumped. It is crazy that there is such a sustained, natural, beautiful line on granite. That seems really rare.
Climbing: What are your takeaways from the summer?
Herson: Enjoy the process. Even those attempts that feel like you should’ve sent or those days that feel like you should’ve been better are still days out on rock with friends and are still really good days. Learning to see that silver lining is something I’ve struggled with on this trip, but learned a lot about. Plus, every single route I’ve done here I would say is a five-star line. Totally mega. What’s not to like about that? Even when I’ve been getting close and falling this summer it hasn’t been the same. On Cobra Crack, Crack of Destiny, and Spirit Quest I had really high falls. Immediately afterward I was just psyched to be there. Instead of being hard on myself, the mindset was just like, “Oh, I get to climb it again!” I also began to think of those falls as like, “Wow, I can do this climb.” After each of those attempts where I fell really high, the routes just felt more doable.
It is ironic because on this trip I wasn’t super performance-focused and I think not putting the pressure on myself made the difference.
Climbing: Anything else you’d like to add?
Herson: Two weeks ago I was thinking “I want to send Destiny and Spirit Quest and then I’ll go home.” But now that I’ve sent those two, I don’t really want to go home! Maybe I will though, I just bought my seventh pack of Band-aids in a month!
Also Read:
- Scarpa’s Best Crack-Climbing Shoe is the New Generator
- 5.13 Walls and 3000-Foot Alpine Faces Climbed in Pakistan; 5.14c Flash First Ascent
- What I learned Watching Drew Ruana Knock Down a Nemesis Boulder
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