BURSTConnor Herson has announced his ascent of James Pearson’s Bon Voyage 5.14d (9a) in Annot, France. He climbed the route in eight sessions in 2025. Herson began his 2025 summer season in Squamish, where he established what is likely the world’s hardest trad line with his FA of Drifter’s Escape 5.15a. He then went on his first trip to Europe, taking down hard route after hard route. He visited Jøssingfjord, Norway and made relatively quick work of two of its standout routes – Crown Royale 5.14c/d and Recovery Drink 5.14c. Later on the trip, he worked James Pearson’s Bon Voyage with Jacopo Larcher. A video of Herson’s ascent has just been released by Black Diamond and can be viewed below.
“I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in Annot late last year with [Jacopo Larcher] climbing on this legendary [James Pearson] test piece,” said Herson on Instagram. “Travelling, climbing, and hanging out with Jacopo ended up being one of the highlights of my year. Not a bad way to round out 2025! Thank you, Jacopo, for such an incredible trip.
“I had an interesting learning process/mindset shift on this route. Partway through the trip, Jacopo and [Mathieu Miquel] pointed out that I was climbing for the sake of not falling, focusing only on what mistakes I wanted to avoid. As a result, I’d overgrip and climb timidly every attempt. Shifting that mindset, and climbing for the sake of climbing, is what I’m most proud of from this trip, more than just sending the route.”
Bon Voyage shares the same beginning as Le Voyage, another Pearson route, before trending left through a series of shallow and awkward pockets, and finally finishing up a technical arête. Pearson proposed a grade of 5.14d. The second ascent went to none other than Adam Ondra, who isn’t particularly known for his trad climbing, despite having a killer resume that includes an ascent of the Dawn Wall. It took Ondra three sessions. Other climbers to repeat the route include Sébastien Berthe and Estaban Daligault, and all agree with Pearson’s grade assessment.
Bon Voyage has a section with huge fall potential – the concern for climbers is hitting a massive flake and suffering dire consequences. 22-year-old Herson, a gear wizard (and an electrical engineering student at Stanford), placed an extra piece of gear lower on the route near the belayer. In doing so, the R-rated fall simply became a huge whipper. He also cleverly positioned a bouldering pad on the dangerous flake, just in case.
Herson is one of the most accomplished trad climbers ever. In Yosemite last year, Herson made the first free ascent of Triple Direct (5.14a, 30 pitches), freed The Nose in 9.5 hours with no falls, sent Golden Gate in 14 hours, El Corazón in 14.5 hours, and Pre Muir Wall over two days. In 2024, he climbed the Heart Route (5.13, 31 pitches) with Tommy Caldwell, and opened Resurrection Free (5.13d, 9 pitches).
Other hard trad climbing sends of his include Empath 5.14+, Prayer for a Friend 5.14 onsight, Stranger Than Fiction 5.14-, Meltdown 5.14c, Magic Line 5.14c, Blackbeard’s Tears 5.14c, Cobra Crack 5.14b, and Crack of Destiny 5.14b, among others. In the summer of 2024, he established Squamish’s first 5.15a sport route, Midnight Way, located in Paradise Valley.
Connor Herson Climbing Bon Voyage 5.14d
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