Connor Herson has made repeats of two of the hardest trad crack climbs in Squamish, and the world, Cobra Crack (5.14a)/8c, and Crack of Destiny, 5.14b/8c.

Cobra Crack, which was first established back in 2006 by Sonnie Trotter, has long been a testpiece for crack-climbers at the very top end, having seen repeats from climbers such as Yuji Hirayama, Alex Honnold, Pete Whittaker, and Tom Randall.

Crack of Destiny, on the other hand, is a relatively new addition to Squamish, having been established by the long-dormant Didier Berthod in June this year, after seeing off attempts from Mason Earle, Sonnie Trotter, and Will Stanhope, all of whom had previously climbed Cobra Crack. The route is thought to be one of the hardest finger cracks in the world.

Berthod himself tried Cobra Crack for two rainy months in 2005, but was unable to climb the route. When he eventually returned for a second attempt last month, he fell from the top and broke his wrist. As such, Herson is the only person to date to have climbed both routes.

Sharing news of his two top-end crack climbing ascents on social media, Herson said:

'Cobra Crack (5.14b/8c) – growing up, this legendary route by Sonnie Trotter has always been a dream line of mine, and it was at the top of my list for this trip. Psyched to send it pretty quickly, and even more psyched that I didn't have to use the mono'.

'Crack of Destiny (5.14b/8c) – when I saw the pics of Didier Berthod making the FA of this line, I knew I had to try it. In terms of style, difficulty, and quality, this thing is truly Cobra Crack 2.0'.

'I wasn't sure what to expect from my first international climbing trip, but I've been absolutely loving my time in Squamish so far! It has a bit of everything– beautiful scenery, incredible rock quality, and all styles of climbing. Ticking off this list over the last month has been all time'.

In addition to these two routes, Herson also made an ascent of Spirit Quest, 9a, established by Mike Foley in 2021.

Herson made headlines last year for his repeat of Carlo Traversi's Empath, 5.15a/9a+, at Lake Tahoe in the northern Sierra Nevada, USA. His ascent, which was the first time the route had been climbed on trad gear, stands as one of the hardest trad ascents of all time.