When health issues force one of climbing’s best athletes to stop, what happens to his unsent project? Black Diamond’s new short film, The Pirates Code, documents Connor Herson finishing Mason Earle’s unsent project several years after Earle was diagnosed with chronic illness. It explores questions of legacy, friendship, and vision along the way to Herson’s big send.
In the 2010s, Mason Earle became one of the world’s best trad climbers, sending iconic lines like Cobra Crack (5.14b). He and his climbing partner Ben Ditto were drawn to an unclimbed overhung crack in Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite Valley.
Earle tried his best to send the mixed trad and sport climb, which they named The Pirates Code, but failed. In 2018, he fell ill with a chronic illness — and hasn’t climbed since.
A diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome forced Earle to hang up his climbing shoes, but he didn’t want this dream line to go unsent. In 2022, he and Ditto encouraged young gun Connor Herson to give it a shot. Herson, who has sent some of the hardest trad lines in the world, was instantly drawn to the idea.
The Pirates Code is a multifaceted story, exploring the bond between Earle and Ditto, and the changing of the guard that happens with each successive generation in climbing.
Runtime: 17 minutes
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