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.