Most iconic 5.13s in North America

What are the most iconic pitches 5.13s in North America?

Rules: Climbs must be single pitches. "Money Pitches" that are technically part of a multipitch route are allowed as long as it is feasible/common for ascentionists to rappel, lower off or walk off after completing the "money pitch." Iconic pitches must be exceptionally attractive and recognizable in terms of photogenics/aesthetics. Bonus features include high rock quality, "classic status," and historical significance. If you can't instantly name the route from a photo it's not iconic. 

My top 10 so far...

1. The Shadow, Squamish, 5.13a

2. Ecstasy, Pine Creek CA, 5.13a

3. The Phoenix, Yosemite CA, 5.13a

4. Peace, Tuolumne CA, 5.13d

5. Predator, Rumney NH, 5.13b

6. Ozone, Gunks NY, 5.13d

7. Edge of the World, Cathedral Ledge NH, 5.13c

   
   

8. Darkness at Noon, Smith Rock OR, 5.13a

9. Six Star Crack, Indian Creek UT, 5.13

10. The Greatest Show on Earth, NRG WV, 5.13a

Honorable Mentions:

* Grand Illusion, Tahoe CA, 5.13b
* Eurasian Eyes, Squamish, 5.13b
* Zabba, ADK NY, 5.13a
* Maniac, ME, 5.13d
* Rude Boys, Smith Rock, 5.13b
* The Backbone, Smith Rock, 5.13a
* Welcome to Ol' Kentuck RRG KY, 5.13
* Kaleidoscope, RRG KY, 5.13c
* Desert Gold, Red Rock, 5.13a
* Belly full of Bad Berries, Indian Creek UT, 5.13-
* Stingray, Joshua Tree CA, 5.13d
* Cowboy King, Wild Iris WY, 5.13b
* Strawberry Roan, Lander WY, 5.13c
* Some NRG face climb (Quinsana Plus, Dial 911, Confirmation, Stabat Meter)
* City Park, Index WA, 5.13+
* Bullet the Blue Sky, Penitente CO, 5.12d (lol)

My pick for Smith would be the Backbone. I could see the argument for Rude Boys since the rose move is so iconic. Darkness does not stand out to me as as prestigious as the other two. Full spank should be off the list since it has only been done a hand full of times and is relatively obscure compared to other routes on the monkey (see the Backbone).

Not for length, but overall quality and uniqueness for the Red, Welcome to Ol’ Kentuck.

Love it or hate it, I bet there’s 4 people working Sonic Youth right now. And it’s been like that for 20 years. Must be worth something.

Desert Gold is 13b now? It’s used to be a 12c overhanging splitter to an 11d roof, that equates to 13a. How many letters do we add for endurance that’s way easier than the crux?

I'm surprised not a single one from Colorado 

Cesar Galan wrote:

I'm surprised not a single one from Colorado 

That’s not surprising at all. Colorado is choss.

Cowboy King in Wild Iris gets my vote (photo cred to Luis Arevalo)

Great thread btw

Pump O Rama and Strawberry Roan duh

There are innumerable classic 13s in the red, but if aesthetics rank highly, I think Kaleidescope is certainly iconic. That thing is jaw dropping.

How does something so out of character for a place, like Carbondale Short Bus make the list, when an area defining route like Tricks are for Kids or Six Star Crack not make even the runner up list?

Israel R wrote:

There are innumerable classic 13s in the red, but if aesthetics rank highly, I think Kaleidescope is certainly iconic. That thing is jaw dropping.

Aesthetically, I agree, one of the prettiest. Movement has a lot to be desired comparatively. 

Andrew Child wrote:

My pick for Smith would be the Backbone. I could see the argument for Rude Boys since the rose move is so iconic. Darkness does not stand out to me as as prestigious as the other two. Full spank should be off the list since it has only been done a hand full of times and is relatively obscure compared to other routes on the monkey (see the Backbone).

Darkness is more photographed than Backbone, no? Therefore more iconic. 

Thanks for the suggestions all. Keep 'em coming. I edited the original post to add several of the good ones mentioned (Cowboy King, Strawberry Roan, the Backbone) to the honorable mentions list and swapped Carbondale with Six Star. I am not super familiar with the Creek so I didn't know that one. Although, I think Carbondale's "iconic" status comes from the HK film in my mind :) Also just wanted to make clear that my list isn't meant to be authoritative.. more just to get the discussion going. More swaps might be incoming... in my mind the top 6 or so are fairly cemented, then it's probably Six Star Crack, Backbone/Darkness/Rude Boys, Edge of the World and Greatest Show which are undeniably sick looking... but so are many of the other routes listed here

Also sorry yeah, CO is choss compared to the good stuff out east and west.. i bet pump o rama is fun to climb but to me doesn't even make borderline runner up territory

highaltitudeflatulentexpulsion wrote:

How does something so out of character for a place, like Carbondale Short Bus make the list, when an area defining route like Tricks are for Kids or Six Star Crack not make even the runner up list?

Six Star is #9 on his list.

Grand Illusion should be higher on the list. Desert Gold has such a short crux, and the roof that everyone takes pics from isn’t even the tough stuff. First pitch is also choss. There are so many other routes that deserves to be on the list. 

Maybe Surf Safari in the Bay Area if it hadn’t tipped over

szheng wrote:

Also sorry yeah, CO is choss compared to the good stuff out east and west.. i bet pump o rama is fun to climb but to me doesn't even make borderline runner up territory

Pumporama, while nice to climb, definitely doesn't belong anywhere near this list. If you want some Rifle representation on this list, The Eighth Day is a strong contender for the runner-up but doesn't make the top 10.

Another Colorado sport climb to consider for the runner-up list is Choose Life in the Flatirons. Aesthetic route; interesting name and history. See also: Third Millennium at the Monastery. 

JCM wrote:

Another Colorado sport climb to consider for the runner-up list is Choose Life in the Flatirons. Aesthetic route; interesting name and history. See also: Third Millennium at the Monastery. 

I thought about suggesting choose life but I don't think it has a striking enough feature to really be considered for this list. It's not 13 but I think cheating reality is probably the most iconic flatirons line. The Horn, 5 year plan, and Beware the future are the most iconic looking flatirons 13s but not sure if they rise to this list either.

The Glass Menagerie in NC at Looking Glass surely has to be on this list.

Chris Ham wrote:

Darkness is more photographed than Backbone, no? Therefore more iconic. 

Only because it's more convenient. (both to climb+and photograph)  I'd guess that Rude Boys is probably the most broadly known 5.13 at Smith, but I'd agree with Andrew that the Backbone is probably an objectively cooler pitch than either that or Darkness by all metrics.  If you're truly filtering by 'iconic' as opposed to good, then Rude Boys probably wins out over Darkness or the Backbone, but if you put more weight on quality, (position, good rock, good flow) then it'd be the Backbone>Rude Boys.  Darkness should probably be dropped because it's not particularly visually unique.  Someone only vaguely familiar with the Dihedrals, likely won't be able to tell the difference between it, Heinous, and To Bolt.  Also Full Spank has been done by many people at this point.

City Park would be a good one to add to the list.  I'm not sure how visually notorious it is, but it's reputation/history certainly puts it in the running.  Also, is 6 star crack really 13d?

Peter Van wrote:

Six Star is #9 on his list.

Grand Illusion should be higher on the list. Desert Gold has such a short crux, and the roof that everyone takes pics from isn’t even the tough stuff. First pitch is also choss. There are so many other routes that deserves to be on the list. 

It is now that the original post has been edited.

I agree with you on Desert Gold.

For an average gold hands type of climber, it’s absolutely slammer jams. It even narrows at the lip to really lock you in, and the lip is jugs.

The whole route is so small and un-grandiose. Unless you know where to look, you’d never see it when walking around BV.

For Colorado, it’s usually not nearly as picturesque for the single pitches.

Bullet the Blue Sky in Penitente should qualify but it’s 12d (13a or b by this thread’s standards).

Sphinx Crack definitely qualifies both for quality, aesthetics, and history. It’s probably still closed though.

This list should probably have a columnar basalt crack/corner on it. Surely something at Trout Creek or down around Flagstaff (Oak Creek Waterfall, Volunteer Canyon, etc) could qualify? Max Tepfer - any Trout Creek nominations?

JCM wrote:

This list should probably have a columnar basalt crack/corner on it. Surely something at Trout Creek or down around Flagstaff (Oak Creek Waterfall, Volunteer Canyon, etc) could qualify? Max Tepfer - any Trout Creek nominations?

There are for sure classic 5.13s at Trout, but it's a relatively new crag and very few people actually climb those pitches, (probably 90% of them are waiting for a second ascent) so I'm not sure I'd describe them as 'iconic' compared to something like the Shadow, Rude Boys, or the Pheonix.  Classic and really high quality for sure, but well known? Definitely not.  The Mayfly is probably the closest of those to that, but it gets 12d because Cody is humble.  It's seen quite a lot of repeats (an order of magnitude more than anything else 12+ and up at that cliff) and would probably get 13- in plenty of crags, so maybe add it?  The only other 13 that's seen more than 2 ascents up there is the Compleat Angler, (three total ascents to my knowledge) but it's a pretty obscure pitch, despite being quite good.

I haven't climbed in Northern Arizona yet, but it seems like East Coast Fist Bump is pretty well known outside of its local community.  I think one issue that works against basalt climbs in general with a list like this is that they kind of all look the same.  A photo of someone on the crux of ECFB would probably look a lot like a photo of someone on the crux of any number of (albeit super classic) pitches at the Waterfall.  Ditto Trout Creek.

Max Tepfer wrote:

  I think one issue that works against basalt climbs in general with a list like this is that they kind of all look the same.  A photo of someone on the crux of ECFB would probably look a lot like a photo of someone on the crux of any number of (albeit super classic) pitches at the Waterfall.  Ditto Trout Creek.

This seems like a fair assessment, and highlights that this thread is about the most visually striking and recognizable pitches, not the best climbing. These columnar basalt crags are great for lining up a bunch of amazing pitches next to each other, but they do all kind of look the same. 

I suspect East Coast Fist Bump is famous primarily because it is the hardest route at the crag and was originally graded 14a (which still gets attention in trad world), not because it's necessarily the best line. The same can probably be said if Carbondale Short Bus, which is famous because it was graded 14a and has some interesting looking moves, but the line itself is kinda dumpy by Creek standards.