Jacopo Larcher repeats 'Magic Line' in Yosemite

Jacopo Larcher has repeated Magic Line, the extremely technical, thin crack first climbed in 1996 by Yosemite valley legend Ron Kauk with pre-placed gear and led ground-up for the first time in 2018 by his son Lonnie Kauk.

This was Larcher’s first trip to try the atmospheric crack located at the base of the Vernal Falls and his ascent follows that of his partner, Barbara Zangerl, just one week earlier, and that of Connor Herson at the start of autumn

Success means that Larcher has now completed the so-called Yosemite double, following his 2022 repeat of the other hardest single-pitch trad climb in the Valley, Meltdown. Other cutting-edge Yosemite free ascents include the El Capitan big walls The Nose (2019), Magic Mushroom (2017), Zodiac (2016) and El Niño (2015).

Commenting after his success, Larcher stated "What an iconic, Magic Line! Besides the famous photograph of Ron Kauk’s FA back in the day, I first got a glimpse of it when Hazel Findlay climbed it and I took some photos of her. I was amazed and intimidated at the same time by the line, but unfortunately over the years I never got the chance or took the time to go and try it myself.

The opportunity eventually arrived, when Babsi came home last year very enthusiastic after having tried it and was motivated to close the circle this year. It wasn’t difficult to talk me into joining her!

I must admit that at first I underestimated the complexity of the route and during my first days trying it, I felt completely lost. It’s not the kind of the route that you can just power through if you’re strong enough. Everyone has to find his or her own beta to solve the intricate sequences and climb flawlessly in order to stay on those almost non-existent footholds.

It seems like everyone climbs the crux differently. You need to find the perfect balance between pushing, pulling, being confident enough, but not too much. You can feel great on it and yet fall at any moment, and the other way around. It’s definitely a hard one for the mind. You really have to focus only on the moment, without overthinking.

When I finally figured out the crux and began to feel better on it, I naively thought I would stand a high chance of climbing the route,if I were to get through the crux on lead. I quickly realized I was wrong. Placing the tiny gear definitely adds some extra complexity and, even when I started to pass the crux on almost every lead try, I kept on falling off somewhere else, twice from the very last move.

The last days have been a rollercoaster. I have to admit that I felt unfounded pressure, both from myself and the outside, and I coped badly with it, not being my best self. It took some effort to shake off this pressure, but once again, the key to success was to simply enjoy the process and feel lucky to share it with good people and be able to climb on such a gem! Now, I’m almost sad that it’s over.

This line and the process to climb it have taught me a lot and it means a lot to me. Big thanks to Babsi, Brent, Connor and Matthias for the good time and the support!... and thanks to Magic Line for the (life) experience."