The grade is a vertical rite of passage, traversing some of the most beautiful stone on the planet.
5.9 is the grade where things
get crazy. It was once the top
end of free-climbing difficulty,
the ultimate on a decimal scale
where “five-ten” was illogical and
unnecessary. The best climbers
in America in the 1950s imagined
nothing harder as they pimped
up dime edges and ran out dark
and desperate chimneys that
only the very best and boldest
could follow.
This feeling lives on. Out of unspoken
tradition, certain 5.9s from
the 1960s and ’70s lurk like wolves
in sheep’s clothing, luring new and
cocky climbers into harrowing and
sometimes dangerous hazings. The
ultimate sandbag grade, 5.9+, should
be printed in caution orange whenever
it appears in guidebooks. Don’t
think so? Go climb the endlessly
strenuous and run-out chimneys on
the Steck-Salathé in Yosemite. Or visit
the Shawangunks and try the arm-destroying
15-foot roof on Modern Times. Modern sport climbing tends to discount the
grade, but on the physical cracks and slabby faces of traditional leads, you’ll earn that
next belay.
In Europe, the equivalent of 5.9 climbs started appearing just after the turn of the
century, in eastern Germany, the limestone Alps, and Great Britain. In the U.S., the grade
was officially opened by Royal Robbins, with his 1952 free ascent of The Open Book at
Tahquitz Rock, ushering in the modern era in free climbing.
5.9 is the portal to the world’s greatest rock climbs. The towering South Arête of Cima
Piccola (11 pitches) in the Dolomites, Italy, or The Pillar of Dreams (nine pitches) in Meteora,
Greece, are two of Europe’s most prized big routes, and both 5.9. In America, iconic
Grade VI Yosemite routes like the Nose of El Capitan and the Regular Northwest Face of
Half Dome succumb to 5.9 free climbers—with the help of liberal aiding.
If you never climb any harder, your climbing career can still be complete. And no
matter how hard you climb, you’ll always make time for the 5.9s. Either way, you can find
the 5.9 mojo wherever you look. The grade is a vertical crossroads, traversing some of the
most beautiful stone on the planet.
A fine route to the summit of the Charlatan—if you don't mind a short stint of crux offwidth. You can see that OW here, looming above the belayer. If you just can't deal, skip over to the Witch and climb Inner Sanctum (face climbing), or the incredible hand cracks of Igor Unchained (old-school "5.9+"). At the low end of Needles 5.9, try Imaginary Voyage on the Warlock.
IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE, TENNESSEE WALL, TENNESSEE
T-Wall is the sandstone belt's signature trad crag, but the 5.9 grade is poorly represented here. There are classic 5.8s and 5.10s galore, splitters and corners, roofs and slabs, but only a few top-tier 5.9s, most of the scary arête variety. Here, Jennifer Jenkins climbs the exception to the rule, one of the South’s prettiest corner cracks.
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