Gripped Magazine
Connor Herson Climbs Recovery Drink 5.14c Trad on Norway’s Profile Wall
After a fourth-go ascent of Pete Whittaker’s testpiece Crown Royale, Connor Herson set his sights on the next king line of Norway’s Profile Wall: Recovery Drink.
In August 2025, Herson made the third ascent of Crown Royale, which was established by Whittaker in September 2023. Whittaker proposed a grade of 5.14d before Jernej Kruder made the second ascent in May 2025, calling it 5.14d soft. Herson graded Crown Royale at 5.14c.
Recovery Drink was established by Nico Favresse in 2013 as a 35-metre 5.14c. Daniel Jung of Germany bagged the second ascent in 2018 and Whittaker climbed it in 2019 for its third ascent. Herson became the fourth recorded ascent when he ticked it after Crown Royale last summer.
After the first ascent, Favresse said, “I sent the pitch placing gear on lead except for a few pieces in the easier sections which I had left in place to make it easier to clean the route after each try, because it’s very overhanging… It consists of three distinct sections split by rests. The middle section is the hardest and the last section is very pumpy with a heartbreaking move right at the end. I was glad not to fall there on the linkage.”
“Bit of a rollercoaster on this one,” Herson said. “On my second try I found myself staring down the anchor, but ultimately taking the whip due to a cam blocking the final finger lock. After that, the struggle began… ripped my skin so badly I couldn’t repeat the crux section then went through multiple complete overhauls of the crux beta. Finally put it together on my sixth session.
“I was putting a lot of pressure on myself this trip. Managing expectations is an ongoing battle for me, and it was particularly tough to keep it together many sessions deep on a climb I’d all but sent second go. It ended up being a really interesting learning process.”
Herson Sends Recovery Drink 5.14c
Recovery Drink FA
Whittaker’s Send
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