Sophomore year, I started climbing by taking Cornell Outdoor Education's basic rock climbing class (thanks Brielle!) and have been hooked ever since. Climbing has taken me to some of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Places I might never have otherwise seen -- Joshua Tree, the Colorado/Utah desert, the Blue Mountains in Australia, Verdon Gorge in France, Daniel Boone National Forest, high above the Mediterranean Sea in Spain, Red Rock Conservation Area, the High Sierra, the Wind River Range, Bugaboo Provincial Park, the Gunks on a brilliant fall day. The friends, places, road trips and incredible views are what makes climbing a lifelong passion.

People always ask me to name my favorite climb.  I don't have one favorite, but I can list a few which stand out in my mind:
    Charlotte Dome (5.8, IV), High Sierra
    Crimson Chrysalis (5.8), Red Rock
    Ent's Line (5.11b), Gunks
    Exasperator (5.10c), Squamish
    Gamesmanship (5.8), Poke-O-Moonshine, Adirondacks
    Lost Arrow Spire Tip (5.9, C2), Yosemite
    Margarine Ridge (13, IV), Blue Mountains, Australia
    Mate, Spawn and Die (WI5), Salmon River Falls
    McTech Arete (5.10), Bugaboos
    Petit Grepon (5.8), Rocky Mountain National Park
    Pingora, Northeast Face (5.8+, IV), Wind River Range
    Pingora, South Buttress (5.8), Wind River Range
    Trap Dike (NEI 2 winter; 4th class summer), Mt. Colden, Adirondacks
    Visite Obligatoire on Aiguille Dibona (5.10+, IV), Ecrins, France

There is a second tier which will take your breath away nearly as well as the climbs listed above.  Certainly you shouldn't pass on an opportunity to climb them:
    Ace of Spades (5.9), Joshua Tree
    Amorrada al Pilo (6b+), Gandia, Costa Blanca, Spain
    Amptrax (6a), El Chorro, Spain
    Anacram (5.10c), Joshua Tree
    Ancient Art (5.11), Fisher Towers
    Angel's Crest (5.10c, IV), Squamish
    Anti-Jello Crack, Dome Rock (5.10a), The Needles
    Arete des Papillions (5.8), Chamonix, France
    Armadillo (5.7), Katahdin, Maine
    Assenza di Spit (6a+), Vezia, Switzerland
    Avalanche Gulch (non-technical), Mt. Shasta
    Baxter's Pinnacle (5.9), Grand Teton National Park
    Bird of Fire (5.10a), Joshua Tree
    Birdland (5.8+), Gunks
    Birdland (5.7+), Red Rock
    Bishop's Terrace (5.8), Yosemite
    Black Crack (5.9), Annapolis Rocks
    Black Orpheus (5.9+, IV), Red Rock
    Bugaboo Spire, NE Ridge (5.8, IV), Bugaboos
    Busch Gardens, Little Eiger (5.10), Clear Creek Canyon
    Buttermilk Falls (WI4), Catskills
    Cascade Falls (to summit) (WI2+, IV), Adirondacks
    Castleton Tower, Kor-Ingalls (5.9+), Castle Valley
    Castleton Tower, North Chimney (5.9), Castle Valley
    Cathedral Peak, SE Buttress (5.6), Yosemite
    CCK Direct (5.9), Gunks
    Circus In The Wind (5.11a), Ten Sleep Canyon
    Climb and Punishment (5.9+), Vedauwoo
    Colorado Crack (5.9), Joshua Tree
    Crimp Scampi (5.10d), Horseshoe Canyon Ranch
    Culp-Bossier, Hallett Peak (5.8), Rocky Mountain National Park
    A Dare By The Sea (5.10d), Otter Cliffs, Acadia, Maine
    Dez Guys (5.10a), City of Rocks
    Different Strokes (5.11c), Red River Gorge
    Directissima (5.9), Gunks
    Dopey Duck (5.9), Linville Gorge
    Dos Chi Chis (5.10a), Joshua Tree
    Dream of Wild Turkeys (5.10a), Red Rock
    Durrance (5.7), Devil's Tower
    Eagle Dance (5.10c, A0, IV), Red Rock
    Ecstasy (5.7), Seneca Rocks
    Electric Boobs (5.9+), Stone Mountain, NC
    Empor (5.7+), Cob Rock, Boulder Canyon
    Envers et Contre Toute (5+), Verdon Gorge, France
    Epinephrine (5.9, IV), Red Rock
    Everything's Big in Texas (5.10a), Spearfish Canyon
    Ewephoria (5.8), Cochise Stronghold
    Exum Direct (5.7, IV), Grand Teton National Park
    Fairview Dome, Regular Route (5.9), Yosemite
    Fealine (5.11b), Rifle
    Fingertrip (5.7), Tahquitz
    First Flatiron, Direct Route (5.6R), Boulder Colorado
    Fisuras Armoniosas (6a+), Valle de Abdalajis, El Chorro, Spain
    Five Gallon Buckets (5.8), Smith Rock
    Frosted Flake (5.8+), Rumbling Bald
    Gettin' Lucky in Kentucky (5.10b), Red River Gorge
    Mt. Gimli, South Ridge (5.10a), Valhalla Provincial Park, British Columbia
    Ginger Cracks (5.9+), Red Rock
    Godzilla (5.9), Index, WA
    Golden Dream (5.9), Peter's Kill
    Grand Wall (5.10a, C1, Boat Rope), Squamish
    Gridlock (5.11a), Red Rock
    Group Therapy (5.10c), Jackson Falls, Illinois
    G-String (5.11a), New River Gorge
    Gusano (6a), Callosa, Costa Blanca, Spain
    Heart and Sole (5.10a), Joshua Tree
    Hospital Corner (5.10a), Lover's Leap
    Igor Unchained, The Witch (5.9+), The Needles
    Incredible Hand Crack (5.10), Indian Creek
    Independence Monument (5.8+), Colorado National Monument
    Iron Man Traverse (V4), Bishop
    J Crack (5.9), Lumpy Ridge
    Jeff and the Giant Reach (5.11c), Squamish
    Kansas City (5.7, C1), Gunks
    La Presa (5.11b), El Potrero Chico
    Levitation 29 (5.11c, IV), Red Rock
    Lieback and Enjoy It (5.10d), New River Gorge
    Loose Lady (5.10a), Joshua Tree
    Lonesome Dove (5.10a), Rumney
    Malmsteen (5.10d), Rifle
    Matthes Crest (5.7), Yosemite
    Melvin's Wheel (5.8+), Lumpy Ridge
    Mental Physics (5.7), Joshua Tree
    Middle Cathedral, East Buttress (5.9, A0), Yosemite
    Modern Times (5.8+), Gunks
    Monaco (5.11b), Joshua Tree
    Montezuma's Tower (5.7), Garden of the Gods
    Moonlight Buttress (5.9, C1, V), Zion National Park
    Mountaineer's Route (5.9), Elephant's Perch, Sawtooth Range
    Mt. Stuart, North Ridge (5.9), Cascades, Washington
    Never Never Land (5.10a), Gunks
    North Early Winter Spire, West Face (5.10b, C1), Washington Pass
    Obi Wan Ryobi (5.9+), Rumney
    Outer Space (5.9), Leavenworth, WA
    Peer Pressure (5.10d), Rumney
    Penon de Ifach, Costa Blanca (6c+), Costa Blanca, Spain
    Pentapitch + Sasquatch (5.9), Litttle Cottonwood Canyon, UT
    Petit Beru (6b), Chamonix, France
    Pharaoh Mountain (WI3, 500'), Adirondacks
    Pine Tree Eliminate (5.8+), Cathedral, North Conway, NH
    Playing Hooky (WI4+), Six Mile Creek
    Quaker State (5.11a), Moore's Wall
    Reach Around (5.7), Peter's Kill
    Rewritten (5.7+), Eldorado Canyon
    Retribution (5.10b), Gunks
    Rhodian Shores (5.10b), The Bihedrals, Boulder Canyon
    Rico Suave (5.10a), New River Gorge
    Rock On (5.10a), Squamish
    Rock Wars (5.10a), Red River Gorge
    Royal Arches (5.7, A0), Yosemite
    Ruper (5.8+), Eldorado Canyon
    Salbitschijen, South Ridge (5.9, IV), Uri, Switzerland
    Second Coming (5.7), Looking Glass
    Shockley's Ceiling (5.6), Gunks
    Sin Mantenimiento (6a), Desplomilandia, El Chorro, Spain
    Snake Dike (5.7), Yosemite
    Soler (5.9), Devil's Tower
    Son of Easy O (5.8), Gunks
    Sour Mash (5.10a), Red Rock
    Space Boyz (5.10d), El Potrero Chico
    Spilling Waves (5.7), Rushmore, South Dakota
    Sundance Pinnacle (5.9), Wind River Range
    Tabula Rasa (5.10d), The Monastery, CO
    The Diagonal (5.8), Wallface, Adirondacks
    The Good Stuff (5.10a), City of Rocks
    The Heavy Hitter (5.10c), Red Rock
    The Kid (5.10a R), Joshua Tree
    The Line (5.9), Lover's Leap
    The Mace (5.9), Sedona, Arizona
    The Sting (5.8), Poke-O-Moonshine, Adirondacks
    Three Doves (5.8+), Gunks
    Traveler Buttress (5.9), Lover's Leap
    Triassic Sands (5.10c), Red Rock
    Tricouni/Cerebus (5.8), Needles, South Dakota
    Twilight Zone (5.4, C2), Gunks
    Unimpeachable Groping (5.10b), Red Rock
    Urban Cowboys (5.10d), Wild Iris
    Vanderholics (18), Nowra, Australia
    Waimea (5.10d), Rumney
    Washington Column, South Face (5.8, C1, V), Yosemite
    Waterfall Wall (WI4-), Crane Mountain
    West Ridge of Mt. Conness (5.6), Yosemite
    White Punks on Dope, Voodoo Dome (5.9), The Needles
    Whitney Gilman (5.7), Cannon
    Wholesome Fullback (5.10a), Red Rock
    Wolf's Head, East Ridge (5.6, IV), Wind River Range
    Yellow Spur (5.10a), Eldorado Canyon
    Yoda (5.9), Rumney
    Zoo View (5.7+), Moore's Wall

At over 3000' of roped climbing, the North Ridge of Mt. Stuart is the longest climb I've ever done. Though most of that climbing was easy. Exum Direct on the Grand Teton was nearly as long. Epinephrine is 2200' with most of it in the 5.8 to 5.9 range.   Close behind those are the South Ridge of Salbit (1900'), Ellingwood Ledges (1900'), NE Ridge of Bugaboo Spire (1600' of climbing and 700' of scrambling, all in alpine conditions), Trap Dike (1900'), Wolf's Head (1600'), Royal Arches (1600'), Visite Obligatoire (1500'), Royal Flush (1500') and Palavar les Flots (1400').  Mt. Conness requires 2500' of climbing and scrambling to ascend nearly 1500 vertical feet, and is similar to Matthes Crest with about 2500' of climbing mostly along a ridge.  Solar Slab is 1500' if you include the approach pitches and we hit the summit at 10:18am.  At El Potrero Chico I did a bunch of tall climbs: Space Boyz, Yankee Clipper, and Time Wave Zero (to p16).  Other climbs around 1000' or more include the South Face of Washington Column, South ridge of Bergseeschijen, First Flatiron, Angel's Crest, The Grand Wall, Moonlight Buttress, Margarine Ridge, Petit Grepon, Black Orpheus, Crimson Chrysalis, Inti Watana, Fairview Dome, Full Dark Shadows, Full Dream of Wild Turkeys, NE Face of Pingora, Charlotte Dome and Snake Dike.  Crestone Needle (14,167') and Mt. Shasta (14,162') are my two fourteeners. Crestone was a technical ascent via Ellingwood ledges. Shasta was a long day of scrambling up the Avalanche Gulch route with ice axe and crampons starting at just 6880'. My lifetime high point is 15,617' which I reached while treking in the Cordillera Blanca.  Also reached approximately the same elevation trekking in Nepal.  The South Face of Washington Column and Moonlight Buttress are my two big wall (Grade V) climbs.  Black Orpheus, E Ridge of Wolf's Head, Eagle Dance, Epinephrine, Levitation 29, Inti Watana, Margarine Ridge, NE Ridge of Bugaboo, Exum Direct, Mt. Stuart, Angel's Crest, NE Face of Pingora, Rainbow Buttress, Charlotte Dome, Visite Obligatoire, and South Ridge of Salbit are the sixteen Grade IV climbs I've done.  Time Wave Zero is also Grade IV, but I only made it to pitch 16.  I've twice spent the night deliberately on the cliff -- on the South Face of Washington Column and on the top of Castleton.  One miserable, windy, cold night was spent accidentally (though not totally unexpectedly) at the top of Black Velvet after climbing Epinephrine.

I'm a pretty conservative climber (and really scared of falling) so I rarely lead trad harder than easy 5.10.  But when it comes to sport climbing I've led quite a few 5.11 climbs -- Different Strokes, Random Precision, Critters on the Cliff (onsight), Jungle Trundler (redpoint), Armed Insurrection (onsight), Captain Blondie Sinks The Ship, Hot Drama Teacher, I'll Take Sue, Johnny On Roofies, Burning Bush, Edge-A-Sketch, Buccaneer, and Johnny B. Good at Red River Gorge; Ancient Art at Fisher Towers; Levitation 29, Caustic, Drilling Miss Daisy (redpoint), Totally Clips, Under The Boardwalk, Glitter Gulch (redpoint) and Gridlock at Red Rock; Chicks in the Woods, Cynarete, G-String and Tongulation at New River Gorge; Fealine and Ivory Tower at Rifle; Monaco at Joshua Tree; Big Angler, Finland, Fucking the Dog (redpoint), Know Ethics (redpoint), and Three Easy Pieces at Rumney; Circus In The Wind, Godfather 2, and Character Witness at Ten Sleep Canyon; Super Nova (p1, onsight) and La Presa at El Potrero Chico.  My hardest Gunks leads are Criss Cross Direct, MF (first pitch direct, onsight), Never Never Land, Beatle Brow Bulge, P38 and Retribution all 5.10a and 5.10b climbs.

One more list, then I'm done.  Promise.  The final list are the climbs I've done from Gary and Lynn Clark's North American Classics.  I'm not trying to do every climb on the list, but it would be cool to climb all which are within my ability.  So far I've climbed thirty six: Ancient Art, NE Ridge of Bugaboo Spire, Castleton, Cathedral Peak, Charlotte Dome, Crimson Chrysalis, Culp-Bossier on Hallett Peak, Durrance and El Matador on Devil's Tower, Ellingwood Ledges on Crestone Needle, Exum Direct on The Grand Teton, Eagle Dance, Epinephrine, Fairview Dome, Third Flatiron, South Ridge of Mt. Gimli, The Grand Wall, East Buttress of Middle Cathedral, Moonlight Buttress, Mountaineer's Route on Elephant's Perch, Mt. Conness, NE Face of Pingora, Snake Dike on Half Dome, Lost Arrow Spire, Matthes Crest, Petit Grepon, Prince of Darkness, Royal Arches, South Face of Washington Column, Space Boyz, Mt. Stuart, The Mace, Traveler Buttress, Whitney Gilman, E Ridge of Wolf's Head, and Yellow Spur.