What is the Greatest 5.6 in the World?

Conness sounds awesome and has been on my list for a while. I have no doubts that it’s fun and a fantastic day all around, but definitely doesn’t have the same ease of access as Cathedral, and ridges, in general, and particularly in the Sierra, tend to be rife with choss and not the most friendly to newer climbers, regardless of grade. From pictures and reports, Conness’ ridge definitely sounds different, so what do I know. 

Doctor Drake wrote:

ridges, in general, and particularly in the Sierra, tend to be rife with choss

Doctor Drake, I am EPICALLY triggered !!!!!!!!!! haha ....... oh my gosh, I know I need to take it easy ...... chuckling to myself over here. Only because the rock on Conness is just so magnificent. It is golden tuolumne cracks and knobs for days and days. Just so so good. Tuolumne == my favorite rock ever.

Cherokee Nunes, thanks much for your comment! That is a sweet little TM story. I completely agree with him. For us mortals, we climbed as team of 3 -- each leading one pitch at the beginning as this is the most insecure section. We solo'd the rest since it's easier -- turns out scrambling with your friends is ultra fun. I can see why TM was workin the store parking lot, he must have been a sociable guy. The length of Conness really does it for me, because you can settle into flowing, effortless movement. Take a peak over the edge at that BIG southwest face and feel like a hero. 

I guess the west ridge really is my favorite 5.6 ever. Also no one mentioned it, but Cathedral doesn't give much exposure since you're on a face. But yes, the variety of climbing is so nice. And it DOES have a very pointy summit, which gives it a few extra points.

jt newgard wrote:

Doctor Drake, I am EPICALLY triggered !!!!!!!!!! haha ....... oh my gosh, I know I need to take it easy ...... chuckling to myself over here. Only because the rock on Conness is just so magnificent. It is golden tuolumne cracks and knobs for days and days. Just so so good. Tuolumne == my favorite rock ever.

Well...shit. That sounds damn awesome, guess I'll need to get myself out there sometime soon. 

Also bump for running list in the OP, gimme more!

Cool dude. I just read your OP. You make some good points and I'm seeing the southeast buttress in a new light so thank you for that!

For sure.... get on Conness! 

Just to give ya another route (sorry if it's been mentioned already), one could put Tree Route on Dome Rock somewhere on the list of great 5.6s. Yes it is rare for a high quality route to go at this easier grade. No the Tree Route is not near as good as Cathedral or Conness, but it is a damn fine victory lap after doing anything in the Needles. It meets your accessibility criteria for sure too.

Someone else mentioned Tree Route and it’s been on my radar for a while. Topping out Dome Rock (which I’ve never done) seems a little underwhelming on paper, despite the views of the Needles. Is the entire thing brilliant climbing? Or is just the two middle pitches?

Hah I climbed the Great Arch almost 40 years ago! Damn! I recall a cool climb on that face, um, Yard Arm? And Mercury's... something, Lead? I guess I could go look but its not that important.

It's 5.4, but certainly blows Cathedral Peak out the running if we consider best easy 5th class route in the world.

Susan just past the crux on The Kain Route on Bugaboo Spire (5.6).

 I love Cathedral Peak, but you its nothing compared to the position on this route. The crux is also far more interesting and exciting. The rock quality is second to none.

Cory B wrote:

Susan just past the crux on The Kain Route on Bugaboo Spire (5.6).

 I love Cathedral Peak, but you its nothing compared to the position on this route. The crux is also far more interesting and exciting. The rock quality is second to none.

Someone else talked mentioned the Kain Route and it’s on the running list. Did you read the OP or any of the rest of the thread?

I haven’t climbed it, but it looks super cool and is something I’d love to do one day. The bugs don’t strike me as super accessible for most people seeking 5.6 climbs (glacier travel, long hike, etc.) and I’ve heard that the climbing is rather underwhelming and is not at consistent across the entire climb. Can you speak to any of that?

Obviously the route is sick and the bugs are beautiful, but I’m interested in finding routes that are sick and accessible and in a beautiful environment and others factors listed in the OP. 

Yes I read the OP and the thread. I'm the one who originally suggested the Kain route. Just making my argument. 

The Bugs are very accessible, it's like a three hour hike in to one of the most magnificent climbing areas in North America. The glacier travel is trivial, no real crevasses, can be done in approach shoes with micro spikes or ultra light crampons. You dont need to be an alpinist to climb there. TONS of people go in there including many beginner climbers. Its hardly remote.

Cathedral peak is fun jaunt. Your first time you in the Bugaboos will blow your mind that such a place exists. There is no comparison in my view.

There is a lot more out there than just California You asked for best in the world.Why put so many limiters on the criteria? The Bugs are accessible to any climber and are magnificent. I think you maybe need to expand your vision a bit (no offense meant).

I’d like to make a case for any 5.6 at Devils Lake OTHER than Brintons Crack because that one perpetually has a group of 15 FIB’s toprope gangbanging it. Great climb though

Cory B wrote:

The Bugs are very accessible, it's like a three hour hike in...Its hardly remote.

Cathedral peak is fun jaunt. 

True, it’s not remote but cathedral is barely an hr from the car, 25-30min if you’re soloing/jogging the approach. Not quite RA access but dang close. A bit more can happen on a 3hr approach, to be fair. 

Cathedral is a grand day out, but if you bring an ax to Tioga pass you can link North Peak and Conness doing a loop from Saddlebag Lake. I can’t remember any of the climbing on Cathedral, sort of ho hum, but on the NP/Conness it’s the full meal deal with a meadow hike,snow finger, bergshrund , third class route finding, ridge traverse, rappel, granite face and you get the views from two summits on the crest of the Sierra. Less crowded too. If u start in the afternoon you can add a bivy on a ledge on NP to the menu.

Cory B wrote:

Yes I read the OP and the thread. I'm the one who originally suggested the Kain route. Just making my argument. 

The Bugs are very accessible, it's like a three hour hike in to one of the most magnificent climbing areas in North America. The glacier travel is trivial, no real crevasses, can be done in approach shoes with micro spikes or ultra light crampons. You dont need to be an alpinist to climb there. TONS of people go in there including many beginner climbers. Its hardly remote.

Cathedral peak is fun jaunt. Your first time you in the Bugaboos will blow your mind that such a place exists. There is no comparison in my view.

There is a lot more out there than just California You asked for best in the world.Why put so many limiters on the criteria? The Bugs are accessible to any climber and are magnificent. I think you maybe need to expand your vision a bit (no offense meant).

My mistake, I didn’t go back and look.

I’m not trying to limit anything, it’s just an objective fact that a 5.6 route that is a three (more if you’re not used to it) hour hike into the wilderness is less accessible than a 5.6 that is 30-60 minutes into the wilderness. If you hike and climb a lot, like a lot of us do, that’s not a significant difference, but for someone seeking to climb 5.6 that doesn’t have the same experience that you and I have, it is a big difference. Edited to add: similarly, traveling over snowy and glaciated terrain is significantly more involved than a simple footpath.

I would think, as mentioned in the discussion on Wolf’s Head, that most climbers that climb a fair bit harder than 5.6 would enjoy Wolf’s or the Kain Route more than Cathedral because it is less accessible, more remote, etc. Great, but it deserves a footnote, that’s all. I would bet that I would also enjoy Wolf’s and the Bugs more than Cathedral, but Cathedral is probably better suited for a newer climber.  

Could you speak more to the quality and continuity of the climbing on Kain? Since most of the pictures I’ve seen are of the spectacular surroundings, it’s a little hard to tell what the route is like. It looks a little like a staircase, with some sections of technical climbing with lower class terrain between them. 

The title of this thread says nothing about beginner climbers, If by greatest, you mean least objective challenges there is probably a gym some where with some sweet 5.6 moves that doesn’t require a long hike, have loose rock, mosquitos, or be out of cell range.

Liberty Bell Becky Route

Forbidden Peak, West Ridge

(Not for California 5.6 fair weather climbers).

Kain Route requires a lot of talus bashing to get to the goods. Were this a "best 5.8" thread, I'd venture Bugaboo's NE Ridge and down Kain as a contender. 

Yeah that’s more like it. I’ve only come down the Kain Route, but the fact that it goes as a largely unroped descent should tell you something about how sustained it isn’t. 

I have done a few of the 5.6s mentioned in this thread.  Decent fun, some good views, but the best 5.6 I have ever done in my life (20+ yrs climbing alot) was "what's my line" in Cochise.  It lacks the position some of these others do, but it has a great adventure start and better rock/climbing for sure..