Quadra would be my first recommendation. I've got my webpage about Canadian Explorers linked below.

For the most part, Explorer roses and hardy once bloomers are the climbers for the north. Very, very few of the 'mainstream' climbers can handle the winters.

Here is a link that might be useful: Explorer page

I agree with Mad Gallica, Explorer climbers are the safest way to go in zone 5. I gave up on climbers years ago except for the Explorer rose, William Baffin. He's slightly hardier than granite but maybe not the most lovely thing on the block.

If I really wanted to try for an attractive hardy climber, I would look over the list of Kordes climbers at Palatine Roses and try my luck. I would rate these as the second best chance for a cold-hardy climber, after the Explorers.

Here is a link that might be useful: !8 Kordes Climbers at Palatine.

Your best bet is Ramblin' Red from Bill Radler. Tahitian Moon (Easy Elegance series from Ping Lim at Bailey) is supposed to have a climbing habit. Apple Jack (Buck) is hardy. Awakening is another possibility but I am not sure if it is cane hardy in zone 5.

Prairie Princess (Buck) is also hardy. Here is a list of some winter hardy climbers:

http://www.oldheirloomroses.com/climbvar1.htm

Awakening (sport of New Dawn)
Aloha
Dortmund
Leverkusen
New Dawn
Prairie Princess
Parkdirektor Riggers
Super Excelsa
Ramblin' Red

Here is a link that might be useful: Winter Hardy Roses

Of the above, the Explorer, Quadra, or the Knock Out cousin Ramblin Red are probably the cane hardiest. You should know though that for the most part, climbers will die back severly in our zone 5 winters. I've made up my mind that my climbers will be mainly tall rose bushes. Of the 30 or so supposedly hardy climbers I have, only a couple are really cane hardy even with protection. Most require severe pruning to remove winter dieback. This is my first winter with Ramblin Red so I have no personal experience with it.
Hardy, for most climbers in zone 5 means "crown or root" hardy, not cane hardy.

I have a Willian Baffin and the canes have not died off. I've had the climber for about 7 years and I'm in Wisconsin.
I provide no additional protection but the flowers are pink. I planted four other climbers this past summer that were suppose to be hardy to zone 5 so we'll see if they survive.

I have grown and currently still grow a fair number of Explorer, Kordesii, Parkland and other hardy roses. If you truly wish to be assured of essentially zero cane dieback on your climbers in a zone 5 climate, than the Explorer series roses are truly the way to go, as Mad Gallica, Mike and Karl have already pointed out.

There are also other very hardy choices beyond Explorers, that are in the OGR categories, but few of these repeat, so i will not mention them here.

For Reds, the Explorer rose Quadra is an exceptional rose and arguably the best of all of the Explorers. William Baffin, Captain Samuel Holland, John Davis and to a lesser degree, John Cabot, are all top-notch Explorer's that can easily be trained as Climbers and typically repeat very well once established. All of the ones I just noted are highly disease resistant in cold climates.

After the Explorers, the next step down in the hardiness scale are the Kordesii climbers and derivitaves of these climbers. Leverkusen, Morgengruss (Morning Greeting),Illusion, Rosarium Uetersen, Ramblin Red and many others can trace their linegae to the Kordesii genes. However, these Kordesii climbers are not as reliably hardy as the Explorers in zone 5. They will and can dieback in harsh winters, but can be relatively unaffected from dieback in others. Micro-climate plantings go a long way in helping these roses from being truly cane hardy and successful as climbers in zone 5 and lower.

Also, most Bucks are not reliably hardy in zone 5 winters. They are better as shrubs for this application and not as climbers.

New Dawn is another climber that often gets mentioned for zone 5 and although it can be a very good climber in zone 5, it is not reliably cane hardy either. What it does have in abundance is outstanding vigour, which enables it to very quickly regrow and bloom well when it suffers extensive winter damage. However, some years will require extensive pruning and retraining and New Dawn is a rather thorny beast to have to do this every year as the scars on my entire body will attest too... :)

Good luck in whatever you choose.

Tim

I wrote to all of you and thanked you for your help, but just in case I missed anyone, "thank you"!
Kathy

Here is a thread about Ramblin' Red by twohuskies z4A Mpls, MN. Yes, Ramblin' Red is cane hardy.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/rosesgal/msg0311050126002.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Ramblin Red Thread

I haven't had much luck with climbers either. I have New Dawn (mine only blooms once), White New Dawn (don't know how this can even be considered a climber) and Zepherine Drouhin (again, only one bloom time). One I've had better luck with is Austin's Graham Thomas, though it isn't very tall. I've been seriously considering taking out all of them except Graham Thomas and letting the clematis they're all growing with take over, but I've become interested in Kordes' Laguna. Anyone actually grow that in zone 5?

Awakening (pink New Dawn sport with lovely full flowers) has been completely hardy and insanely vigorous for me. I got it as a teensy twig via mail order four years ago, and now have ten-foot canes that have eaten the fence and are eyeing the neighbors' yard. It has a Jackmanii clematis that grows through it. Just breathtaking.

Dublin Bay (lipstick red) is hardy some years, but it always rebounds and reaches the garage roof by the end of summer. It is on a leeward wall, which probably helps.

Zephirine Drouhin (fuchsia) has been pretty hardy but is basically a once-bloomer for me.

America (salmon) is not hardy at all, but I love the color against my white-brick chimney, so I just wait for it to come back from the ground every spring.

I spray all my roses with Wilt-pruf which has seemed to improve the climbers' cane-hardiness. Where are you in Northeast Ohio? I'm in Akron, away from the lake, so I don't get a lot of snow cover to help them survive.

Explorers are the way to go. John Cabot is a great climber and free standing shrub, i grown it on the back fence fanned out.. Never lost a cane to winter kill in 8 yrs.
not the best shots, but you get the idea. I shorten it every year.

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Thorngrower,

LOL...not the best pics huh?? I'd say they are pretty spectacular examples of what John Cabot can do. Thanks for sharing.

Question for you though. How is the repeat on your JC? I never managed to coax much repeat from mine and I no longer grow it as a result, but I miss it and every year i contemplate getting another as the spring flush is a sight for sure and it is bloody bone hardy. Just curious how yours performs here in Ontario.

Oddly, I have a couple of William Baffins and they repeat very well for me although many have the same issue with WB that I had with John Cabot.

John Cabot dosen't repeat all that well. That being said it does get some repeat, just not like the spring flush. You can't tell from these photos but the color is darker.
I keep this rose for its hardiness and the lack of diease,and i love the color.I'm thinking of adding another. It all depends on how well my new red climbers quadra and illusion do over the next few years.
i have so many pink repeat and once blooming roses i really need the darker color of john cabot to break things up.
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What is your favorite of the pink repeat bloomers that would be cane hardy in zone 5? Gorgeous pix!!
Kathy

THORNGROWER----great pictures---I love hardy roses and this one looks like a winner.

Florence

Happily when i put in my 1st roses, they were hardy explorer roses.almost 10 yrs. later they are the backbone of my garden. Jens Munk (hyb.rugosa,pink) Excellent bloomer possibly the best repeat bloomer in my garden,Praire Joy (morden,pink could be trained as a small climber)this rose as well as Jens Munk excellent rebloom. I love the look of old roses and austins better,but if you want pink,hardy,excellent rebloom these are the roses for you.
{{gwi:216666}} This shot is from behind Praire Joy looking out at a sea of other pinks,Jens Munk, Konigin Von Damark(alba) Mary Rose(Austin)

Thank you all for great climber info; it never occured to me that climbers would be less hardy. My question is, do you think any of the Explorers would be amenable to being grown into an apple tree? I've seen pictures of this (with other roses), and it looks so neat, but I'm assuming the plant needs to be rather shade tolerant until it can grow into the sun. Is this even an option in zone 5?

Thanks,
Lara