American trad climbing pro Connor Herson secured the first ascent of the route "Drifters Escape" in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada on July 14, 2025. The line is his most difficult first ascent to date and the culmination of two climbing seasons spent working on it.
In the summer of 2025, the 22-year-old achieved a milestone, and now he is making it public. Connor Herson Herson secured the first ascent of the trad route "Drifter's Escape" on the granite cliff of Stawamus Chief Mountain. Over two seasons, Herson worked on the route, refining sequences, testing protection options, and working his way through the crux sections. Drifter's Escape follows a series of parallel cracks in the otherwise bare granite wall.
It is rare to find such a special route that offers the best (and most unique – the crux is a pogo!) moves I have ever attempted using self-placed protection, and at just the right level of difficulty.
Connor Herson
9a+ – The hardest trad route in the world?
With his proposed grade of 9a+, Herson positions the route at the absolute limit of trad climbing. Should the grade be confirmed, "Drifter's Escape" would be the hardest line in the world protected exclusively with trad gear. Herson also comments that Drifter's Escape definitely felt harder and more sophisticated than other trad gems he has climbed. However, the grade isn't all that important to the young American. "I'm sure the grade won't play a decisive role when I look back on this moment in one, five, or ten years," he writes in a statement. "I had such an incredibly beautiful and positive time on this route, not least because of the people with whom I shared those moments."
Trading specialist Herson
Connor Herson is one of the most distinguished up-and-coming trad climbers of his generation. At the age of 15, he climbed "The Nose" on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, gaining early international attention. Since then, he has completed numerous challenging routes, most recently achieving the first repeat of [route name missing] in January of this year. "Towing the Line" (8c) at Empath Cliff in California. His most famous trad ascents include:
Cobra Crack, Squamish (8b+)
Crack of Destiny (FA), Squamish (8b+)
The Shark (FA), Squamish (8c)
Magic Line, Yosemite (8b+)
Meltdown, Yosemite (8c+)
Squamish – A Mecca for trad climbers
With "Drifter's Escape," Herson once again makes a statement in the international climbing scene in Squamish. The granite walls of Stawamus Chief have been the stage for exciting routes for decades, such as the classic "Squamish Buttress." Now another route has been added, one that could redefine the limits of mobile protection.
Whether the 9a+ rating is confirmed remains to be seen. One thing is certain, however: with this ascent, Connor Herson underlines his reputation as one of the strongest trad climbers of his generation.
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Credits: All images: Christian Adam for Black Diamond