BURSTIn October 2025, Connor Herson made the second ascent of Towing the Line 5.14 at the Silver Fork wall in Tahoe, California. Towing the Line was opened by Carlo Traversi in October 2020 and was originally graded 5.14b. Herson didn’t give a specific grade, but he did say it’s as hard as Empath which ranges in grade from 5.14b to 5.14d depending on the ascentionist. Empath was also FA’d by Traversi the same month he established Towing the Line. The two routes are on the same wall, but interestingly, while Empath has seen a handful of repeats, Herson’s success on Towing the Line was the long-awaited second ascent.
“One of the most technical and varied routes I’ve done,” said Traversi on Instagram at the time. “Almost all styles represented in one mega pitch. Another classic born.”
Towing the Line is a bolted route. It features thin cracks with technical footwork, tiny crimps, and smears. The climbing is varied and bouldery. Herson said the crux was difficult to figure out, but once he did, he was able to get through it every time. New footage of his ascent has been released by Black Diamond. You can view the video below.
“Although both climbs are on the same wall, Towing the Line hasn’t seen nearly the traffic that Empath has,” said Herson. “The two climbs could not be more different in style, but what Towing the Line lacks in popularity it more than makes up for in quality: classic Carlo Traversi power-tech style up a long, striking line on perfect granite with varied, thoughtful movement. Good times checking this one out and getting the 2nd ascent during the BD Athlete Summit in October.”
Herson has racked up an unprecedented tick list of classic and cutting-edge trad climbs in the United States and Canada. His list of accomplishments is already too long to list, but highlights include repeats of Meltdown 5.14c, Magic Line 5.14c, Blackbeard’s Tears 5.14c, Cobra Crack 5.14b, and Crack of Destiny 5.14b. While in Squamish last summer, he made first ascents of the stunning crack The Shark 5.14b as well as one of Canada’s hardest sport climbs, Midnight Way 5.15a. In 2022, he made the first all-gear ascent of Traversi’s Empath 5.14d.
In March 2025, Herson repeated one of the most difficult pure crack climbs in the United States: Mason Earle’s Stranger than Fiction 5.14. In September 2025, he made the first free ascent of Triple Direct on El Capitan in Yosemite. The 30-pitch route was first climbed by Jim Bridwell and Kim Schmitz in 1969. The grade consensus as an aid route is 5.9 A2. That month, he also freed The Nose on El Capitan in 9.5 hours with no falls. He first free-climbed The Nose in 2018 at the age of 15.
Connor Herson on Towing the Line 5.14
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