Check uncommongarden.com

Two roses come to mind. One is John Cabot, hardy to zone 3. The other one is called William Baffin and may be the hardiest climbing rose (zone 2a).
That is not to say that they don't have any branch dieback, but probably not as severe as other types of roses. Plus, as you probably known, an established rose often grows back pretty quick if it suffers winter damage.

Here is a link that might be useful: William Baffin

Look for Polestar or Polstjarnan. This particular rose has about 5 or 6 different names like White star/rose of Finland. It is hardy to zone 2 and doesn't need winter protection from what I have read on it. I just ordered one from this company; http://www.rosefarm.ca/catalogue.html. However, they only ship to Canada. Look on their catalogue page to get pictures and ideas of what you might like.

Danni

The one bad trait that William Baffin has is that it suckers. I removed WB from my garden because of the suckering (it took two years to remove it completely). It comes up all around the main plant and could fill in an area in no time.

I would get John Cabot instead of William Baffin.
My .02
Mike

I would get John Cabot the one in my garden grows tall is very hardy and beautiful.

Check "High Country Roses". They are in Jensen, Utah, and have own root roses.
Tom

We have the Henry Kelsey climbing rose and it does very well here in Zone 4. Henry Kelsey is one of the Canadian Explorer series of roses.

Here is a link that might be useful: Henry Kelsey rose

How tall does she want it to climb. John Davis' canes grow 6 feet or more long and are quite arching. It has lovely pink double flowers anda whole ton of them. My three year old bush has had hundreds of flowers for the past three weeks and will flower until the frost.

Any of the "Parkland" series, or the "Explorer" series will be just fine. You can Google them. They were/are developed in Morden Manitoba for our winter climate! I have had very good luck with them all, and I have brutal winters!
~~P'tuny
Who lives in the Parkland area of Manitoba

thanks for the replies, all. My friend wanted a rose to grow over a 6 foot arbor. I may have to "hunt down" your suggestions to take next Spring instead of next week, as I've run out of time. I can take a shrub. The only explorers I have around here are Morden Blush and Morden Centennial. Both are blooming now in this heat ~ a nice surprise for me. Last year, they shut down in the heat, but I'm keeping them deadheaded and I am fertilizing monthly.

Hi I planted a climbing rose called "New Dawn " last year and grew some but after its first winter it died. Does anyone know if its because it was hardy for this climate?
Thank you
///claire

Hi Flowernay! I just discovered this forum--usually go to ponds as have a pond but did a search on cold climate gardening and low and behold!
I grow William Baffin, John Cabot and John Davis--favorite is the last as blooms all season. Have had it planted for 5 years and is only 6 feet tall--the other two are only 2 years old so havn't reached their growth yet.
If your friend wants a really tall climber my Polestar, sometimes called Polar Star is over 9 feet tall. It was taller (almost 15 feet spread along the fence) but I moved it last spring and it didn't like the move much. Had to cut down the canes to 6 feet to move it. They grow on old wood so you are not supposed to cut the canes--just prune out side canes. The flowere is very interesting white with a green bud in the center--only blooms in early spring, but I like the foilage as is a good cover for an ugly wall. The only problem is is that the thorns are about 3/4" long which is why I moved mine from beside the sidewalk to an area where I won't get bitten when I pass by.
Sorry for the late post--I guess this may be e-mailed to you. Happy rose gardening! Jalal

I have the following that do well for me.

John Cabot
John Davis
William Baffin
Ramblin' Red
Henry Kelsey

All do well. Ramblin Red and William Baffin are larger roses.

Clairdo2,
It's too bad New Dawn winter killed for you. I don't think I'm quite as cold zone-wise as you, but I've had the rose almost 12 years now. I grow it laterally on a split rail fence, so the canes grow more horizontally than upright. This makes them flexible enough to almost lay down on the ground in fall--I use rocks to weigh the canes down, lay landscape fabric over the canes, and then cover with soil, leaves, branches, or any mulch I can get my hands on. (Putting the landscape fabric on first makes the mulch more easily removed in the spring.) It's worked really well--I've lost even hardier roses to a couple of harsh winters, but New Dawn is gorgeous with very little die back year after year, and has excellent rebloom.

I don't know if this information will help you. I love New Dawn! I've grown a lot of roses and she's one of my favorites, and I really think it's worth the extra effort to grow her in colder zones.

Kate

These grow well in Homer, Alaska, near where my aunt lives, most have been mentioned before but I'm posting in case you need more encouragement. All of these climbers are hardy to zone 4, and a few are zone 3.
cl. "John Cabot" a nicely saturated pink fuhsia hue.
cl. "John Davis" glossy foliage and disease resistant in their garden. frilly blooms.
cl. "Willliam Baffin" the longest bloomer of these 3 pink climbers. bright saturated pink.

Red "Henry Kelsey" This shows gold stamens, which I love, and it is reported to be easy to grow by those in cold climates.
white "Polstjarnen" syn climbing "Polestar"
highly valued in cold climates, for its ability to cover an arbor in a short time.
good luck,
Luxrosa
if your freind wants more reccomendations for shrub sized roses, I suggest she check Hardys nursery website (Homer, Alaska) for names of c. 2 dozen roses that are hardy in zone 2,or 3, or 4.

Polstjarna is truely a VERY hardy climber... a big plus is that it's cuttings that roots easily and it will reach considerable hight... 5-6 meters is no pbroblem.... only problem is it has vicious thorns, so you must keep it trimmed if it is near passage... or then let it grow rampantly up trees... If you do not find it just contact me and I can suppy some twigs for you & your friend...