East Coast Climbers: Favorite Grade III's and longer?

If such things can be had on the east? And don't tell me the Great Wall of China...

Some good stuff at Cannon:

mountainproject.com/v/canno…

This one's on my to-do list too:

mountainproject.com/v/the-a…

Judging from your location (Jersey), the two closest/best places for full-day length routes are Wallface (Adks) and Cannon Cliff. Wallface is pretty far out in the backcountry and makes for a great adventure; the routes are pretty great too, with most in the 6-10 pitch range. Check out Diagonal (5.8) or Freeride (5.11a) on your first visit there. At Cannon, the Whitney-Gilman (5.7), Moby Grape (5.8), Vertigo (5.9), and VMC Direct Direct (5.10+) are the most notable and classic of the long routes.

And Mental Blocks at Wallface, too. Two points of easy aid open up an absolute classic 5.10.

Add one vote for Moby Grape at Cannon Cliffs. Then go south to Seconds or Groover at Laurel Knob for a good dose of NC run outs.

What difficulty level are you looking for with your Grade III? There are a couple of climbs in Huntington Ravine that might fit the bill. Bit more of an alpine feel than Cannon with the highway running through the Notch. That said Cannon is always a good outing. In addition to the Cannon climbs already mentioned you might want to add Sam's Swan Song to the list. I have yet to do it but two friends of mine recently did it. Both lead 5.11+ trad and one is a guide. "... climbed Sam's Swan Song, twelve pitch, sandbagged 5.7 (more like 8+). Eight hours car to car. Very good route, not much loose rock, and one I would recommend. The guidebook is fine up to the sixth pitch, then things get very confusing." These guys probably took 45 minutes to get to the base and start climbing and two hours at least for the descent. So they did the 1000 feet in 5 hours or so. YMMV.

Northeast Ridge of the Pinnacle and lots of stuff on Cannon

Looking Glass

"IF" such things can be had on the east?

Well, it would be helpful to be more specific about what you're looking for. I haven't done all the routes below, cuz I'm not a hardman who climbs 5.13.

Do you mean Grade III/IV moderate free frontcountry rock routes?
We've got those. Recombeast III 5.9 at Cathedral, Paralysis III 5.8 at Poke-O, etc.

Did you want moderate III/IV alpine rock routes above treeline? We've got those too. NE Ridge of the Pinnacle III 5.7 (or 5.8) on Mt Washington, Armadillo III/IV 5.7 on Katahdin, etc.

Did you want moderate III/IV remote backcountry rock adventure, east-coast-style? We've got those. Diagonal III 5.8 on Wallface, Groover III 5.8 on Laurel Knob, etc.

Did you want more complex moderate rock routes? Yup, we've got those, though many have been freed. Mental Blocks III 5.7 C2 on Wallface, Lab Wall Direct V 5.8 A2 on Cannon, etc.

Do you climb harder? We've got stuff for ya. Try Kingdom Come III 5.12c A0 on the King Wall, Liquid Sky III 5.13b on Cathedral, etc.

Are you seriously badass? Try Brain Dead IV 5.12b A4 on Looking Glass, Lucifer's Lighthouse IV/V 5.12c on Blow-Me-Down, etc.

Is "Grade" your main criteria? Try the Volunteer Wall VI 5.10 A4 (as an aid route) on Whiteside, or Les Gladiateurs VI 5.9 A3 on Cap Trinite, etc.

Did you want big moderate ice routes? We've got those too. Pinnacle Gully III WI3 on Mt Washington, Trap Dike III WI2 on Colden, etc.

Want bigger, badder winter routes? Try Remission IV WI5+ 5.8 on Cathedral, Black Fly IV WI4+ in the remote North Basin of Katahdin, etc.

Or really scale it up and do La Ruee vers l'or (VI WI6 M7+) at Riviere Sainte-Marguerite, or a winter Magical Mystery Tour (V WI5 M5 A0) on Cannon.

Or did you just want something closer to NJ? You could try a bite-size traverse like the classic Easy Rider 5.9 (11 pitches) in the Nears or its more serious cousin The Marching Morons V 5.9 A0 at Millbrook, or more southerly obscurities, less classic, like the Tammany Girdle (5.7, 1200') at the DWG or the Echo Rock Traverse III 5.9 (10 pitches) at Great Falls, or some of the PA cliffs.

You could always try the original, first of it's kind in the US, done in 1934, girdle of Sleeping Giant in CT... Or Barber and Streibert's 1973 excursion, Out of Orbit on Main Cliff, Ragged Mountain.

I can't possibly see how Remission gets a grade 1V. 2 or 3 pitches 200ft from the parking lot..... Lots of stuff Up in Smuggs on the otherhand deserves the grade 1V unless you cheat and ride in on a snowmobile. seems like Nov through the end of jan I always end up useing the headlamp @ Smuggs and the Lake.

Picky, picky. Climb Remission in the style of the 1976 first winter ascent, with vintage ice axes, crampons, pro, and clothing. Let us know your time on the route. These days with ice especially, I feel like I climb a grade harder and a grade longer/faster, just by upgrading from my 1990s gear to my 2010s gear - that III NEI4 feels like a II NEI3 used to.

If you like, replace Remission with Called on Account of Rains IV 5+ M4R at Lake Willoughby. If memory serves, it's a good 100' longer than Remission. Or put in The Promenade - that one's about as short as Remission, and it's pure ice, without any rock or mixed climbing. Or Fafnir, or Omega, or [insert flamebait here]....

IMO things like Vertigo don't get the Grade III rating because it just doesn't take that long to climb. III is a full day ? Full Direct Direct or Lab Wall..add the direct finish to Lab Wall and it's IV..maybe even V..very demanding.

Benedictus and perhaps a couple os the aid lines may also get IV

The prom is way longer than Remission.. Pretty fun rapping that one in total darkness with 3 people and only two headlamps;) Called is way longer and pumpyer than the Prom. I hear Stormy monday is a long day but have not been on it. Shaker heights is way long day w/ the approach. None of that stuff on the north end of cathedral is comparable. Repentance and remission get hiked by 4-5 partys a day on busy weekends. To be fair I have not climbed Remission but both times i was on Repentance, Remission was just as busy as Repentance and the line was moveing just as fast. No way in hell is it a grade 1V in this day and age.