Igor Unchained 

This is one of the best 5.9s in the galaxy.

I have to second the previous statement. It was a blast!

The meaning of the route's name should become clear after a couple hundred moves.

Good news for climbers on a budget: with a little confidence, I'd say this route is easily done on a single set of cams. I brought doubles in the 1"-3" range, as suggested, but never used them. On the third pitch, I used almost entirely nuts. May not be the best idea, however, if you're not comfortable with the grade or not used to crack climbing. When I did it in fall, pitches 1 & 2 remained almost completely shaded (brrrrrrr) while pitch 3 got sun in the afternoon.

Standing at the bottom of pitch 3, it was hard to believe it was going to go at 5.9. But it did, and with good stances for placing pro.

P1 and P2 are really 5.8+ ... especially if you normalize the grades against the wild and wooly pitch 3. In my opinion the "correct" way to do the first pitches is to chain them together and have your belayer simulclimb for 10-20 feet as you finish the lead. Don't fall on the slippery slab move if you use this strategy. Whoever mentioned that P3 protects with almost exclusively nuts is spot on -- you barely need any cams, maybe a few 0.5" to 1" pieces if you like, for the last pitch. Just sack up and fire the moves and you will feel like a hero, especially if you are a 5.9 leader! A few brass nuts are helpful for some of the thinner placements towards the top of the 3rd pitch.

Actually...

I found P1 and P2 to be the physical crux of the route. Perhaps I'm silly. P3, while cerainly a smorgasborg of steep jugs and jam-cracks, seemed to have myriad stances to rest and place gear. Of course, I'm not out to bicker about grades. The whole route is sustained, both in brilliance, location, and incentive (awesome summit). I agree with previous suggestions to double up on cams, and to bring a full set of nuts. P3 swallows stoppers. I think I only placed one or two cams on the entire pitch.

Also, Margee made some unbelievable mint cookies that day.

I agree with Andy, I'd say the grades of all three pitches are about the same, and although you can do it on one, having the two sets isn't a horrible idea - especially if you want to do it in about two pitches. And, best of all, Margee is amazing as are her mint cookies.

Just for perspective, the FA party graded this route as 5.8 when they did it. The name of the route came from the lyric "Igor Unchained by his Baying Hounds" from the song "Monster Mash."

IMO the crux is the bit on P1 where the crack gets shallow. Some folks find it to be the slabby section on P2, which is also kind of cruxy. I'd say the upper pitches are 5.8. I've soloed the upper pitches many times but never had any interest in being ropeless on the first two.

Most of the people that I've ever held a fall for on Igor, fell on that slippery bit before the ledge at the end of pitch 2 (end of pitch 1 if you simulclimb). It's hard to protect the part where people seem to grease off.

The last pitch is intimidating, but in my opinion it is actually very hard to screw up. The blind reaches and big moves make everyone feel like a hero.

Each pitch had a distinct crux for me. The right leg pump on P1 burnt me out. The blank corner with so-so nuts on P2 was a little tricky, and P3 was full of thrills, with some very shallow finger locks being the toughest part. For pro (understanding I'm new to this game and like to feel comfy at all times) I would take double .5-.75 bd (especially handy on the last pitch) and triple 1-3 bd for the first pitch. One #4 was used on P1 and P2, and a single set of nuts sufficed. A few smaller cams were handy throughout, especially for setting up anchors when I didn't want to use up all my hand sized pieces. Pitch 3 was definitely the highlight- steep and burly, with amazing movement throughout, incredible exposure, and good gear. What a climb!

you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a stupendous route in this area. my wife linked the first 2 into a really long pitch. even with an 'oversized' 70m, i was just about to start simulclimbing when she yelled 'off belay'. she said it was, hands down, the best 9 she had ever done. there are several spots in the first 2 pitches that aren't particularly easy for the grade. for somebody at their limit on 5.9, this route would be a satisfying achievement that they wouldn't soon forget.

With a 70M rope and about 20' of simulclimbing, the first two pitches can be run together into a mega-classic enduro 250' pitch to the big ledge. Triples in hand-size gear is recommended for this.

Awesome, awesome route. Remember that people poo-poo'ing lots of gear aren't leading near their limit. Cams come out quicker when following on P3, which I appreciated.
Triple #2 size was nice for the first pitch and use small cams down low to save your hand sizes. A #4 can be used on P1&2, but easy to get by without.