EP 30: Connor Herson — Fourteen 5.14s at Fourteen, Big Wall Free Climbing, and Power Training on a Home Wall

Connor Herson is the kid who free climbed ‘The Nose’ at fifteen years old. What most people don’t know is that he is also an incredible sport climber. We talked about his sport climbing goal at age fourteen, his path to free climbing ‘The Nose’, big wall tactics, gear recommendations, headpointing, training power during COVID, recent sends, and future goals on El Cap.  

Support on Patreon:

patreon.com/thenuggetclimbing  

Show Notes:  

http://thenuggetclimbing.com/episodes/conner-herson  

Nuggets:  

2:00 – Breakfast, caffeine, and sleep  

3:26 – Connor’s goal at age 14  

8:23 – Jailhouse, kneebar pads, the evolution of climbing, and 5.14d  

12:53 – Trying ‘Triple Direct’  

14:27 – Outgrowing beta on the ‘Changing Corners’ pitch  

15:45 – Breakdown of the ‘Triple Direct’ linkup  

17:24 – Three-day ascents  

19:51 – Warming up for 5.14 straight out of bed and kneebaring the ‘Changing Corners’  

22:08 – The path to freeing ‘The Nose’  

30:34 – Making up PE class  

33:25 – Two nudges from Tommy  

38:09 – “If it’s a free route on El Cap it’s a goal.”, building a base of free routes, and thoughts on ‘The Dawn Wall’  

40:21 – ‘Broken Arrow’, moderates to build a base, and headpointing tactics  

47:55 – Bad landings, safety margins, and sewing up the first 25’ of ‘Broken Arrow’  

49:37 – Offset cams, and cams vs. nuts  

51:23 – ‘The Green Mile’  

54:12 – Power training during shelter-in-place, ‘Throwin’ the Houlihan’, and ‘Surf Safari’  

59:48 – Patron Question: Why are so few young climbers pulled towards trad and big walls?  

1:05:06 – Patron Question: Connor’s go-to climbing shoes?  

1:06:53 – Patron Question: Strategies for dealing with discomfort on big walls? (water, harness, shoes)  

1:12:24 – Patron Question: Continue being an “all-rounder” vs. becoming more specialized?  

1:14:16 – Jailhouse for training, and “if it’s training it can be contrived.”  

1:15:52 – Gratitude  

1:17:31 – Connor’s recent two-week trip, and sharing the driving  

1:18:53 – Connor’s upcoming trip and goals