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Dude's Throne
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Routes Sorted
L to R R to L Alpha
Any Doodle Do 
Buster Brown 
Double Dominatrix 
Dude's Dihedral 
Dude's Five Nine 
Dude's Jam Crack 
Dude's Jam Parade AKA The Wiessner Connect 
Dude's Way 
Golden Gate 
Howdy Doody Time 
Impeachment Day Parade 
In Harmsen's Way 
Jolly Rancher 
Jolly Squeeze Party 
Jugs Out For The Lads 
Mighty Aphrodite 
Missing Link 
Open Space Cowboy 
Raven's Brew 
Short Dude 
Sky Chi 
Uplift Mofo Party Plan 

Dude's Throne 


Photos: Recent | Best | Popular
Elevation: 8,900'
Page Views: 12,889. Good page?   
Administrators: Ben Mottinger, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monomaniac, Tom Erickson
Submitted By: Kirk Miller on Oct 23, 2010

Make this area a Favorite
What's New
Guidebooks (1)
  Print a Mini-Guide with routes

Add Route  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event 

Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Chance of a Thunderstorm
71° | 52°
Partly Cloudy
72° | 55°
Partly Cloudy
82° | 59°
Partly Cloudy
82° | 61°
Mostly Cloudy
82° | 57°
State Park; Fee Required. MORE INFO >>>


Kirk Miller on Golden Gate, Photo by Vaino Kodas.

Description 

Perched above Dude's Fishing Hole, this seemingly small crag yields some pretty big routes. With a largely Southwest aspect, the crag can be wonderful in the fall as long as the wind isn't howling. Because Dude's sits at a fairly high altitude, the crag is great in the summer as well. An early start yields enough sustained shade to get in a fair bit of climbing on the West and South faces. When the South face is blazing in the sun, the Throne Room on the North face offers cool respite. With a few exceptions, most notably a historic 5.11 crack climb, the routes are bolt protected sport climbs ranging from 5.9 to 5.13.


Getting There 

Once in Golden Gate Canyon State Park, head to the Aspen Meadow Campground, drive through, and continue down to the parking for Dude's Fishing Hole. The crag can be seen from the parking lot and accessed with a contouring hike through the forest on an at times faint climbers' trail or by hiking up from the pond.


L->R: 


North Face

A. Chili Power, 11+, 1p, bolts.
B. Red Hot Chili Pepper, 12, 1p, bolts.
C. Green Chili, 11, 1p, bolts.

West Face

D. Jolly Rancher, 10, 1p, 45', bolts.
E. Jolly Squeeze Party, 10, 1p, 45', TR.
F. Uplift Mofo Party Plan, 11, 1p, 50', bolts.
G. Major Dude, 12+, 1p, bolts.
H. Golden Gate, 12-, 1p, 60', bolts.

South Face
I. Brass Monkey, 12+, 1p, bolts.
J. Dude's Dihedral, 11, 1p, 60', bolts.
K. Mighty Aphrodite, 10, 1p, 60', bolts.
L. Short Dude, 11-, 1p, 35', bolts.
M. Raven's Brew, 11+, 1p, 80', bolts, gear.
N. Howdy Doody Time, 11, 1p, 80', bolts.
ON. Missing Link, 11, 1p, 80', bolts & gear.
O. Open Space Cowboy, 12-, 1p, 85', bolts.
P. Double Dominatrix, 13-, 1p, 85', bolts.
Q. Impeachment Day Parade, 11+, 1p, 80', bolts.
R. Dude's Jam Crack, 11-, 1p, 80', gear.
S. Buster Brown, 13-, 1p, 80' bolts.
T. Sky Chi, 11+, 1p, 80', bolts, gear.

U. In Harmsen's Way, 10, 1p, 45', bolts.
VU. Dude's Way, 11-, 1p, 45', bolts.
W. Dude's Five Nine, 9, 1p, 45', bolts.
X. Any Doodle Do, 10, 1p, 40', bolts.
Y. Jugs Out For The Lads, 9, 1p, 40', bolts.


Regulations 

Eds. Please note that after discussion with GGCSP, Dude's Throne is within Golden Gate Canyon State Park and thus is subject to its regulations. Hence, any new fixed hardware requires Park approval. Thank you.


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Dude's Throne:
Mighty Aphrodite   5.10     Sport, 1 pitch, 60 feet   
Dude's Jam Crack   5.11a     Trad, 1 pitch, 85 feet   
Short Dude   5.11-     Sport, 1 pitch, 35 feet   
Dude's Dihedral   5.11-     Sport, 1 pitch, 60 feet   
Dude's Way   5.11-     Sport, 1 pitch, 45 feet   
Uplift Mofo Party Plan   5.11b     Sport, 1 pitch, 60 feet   
Howdy Doody Time   5.11b     Sport, 1 pitch, 80 feet   
Sky Chi   5.11d     Trad, Sport, 1 pitch, 75 feet   
Impeachment Day Parade   5.11d     Sport, 1 pitch, 80 feet   
Golden Gate   5.11d     Sport, 1 pitch, 60 feet   
Open Space Cowboy   5.12a     Sport, 1 pitch, 85 feet   
Double Dominatrix   5.13a     Sport, 1 pitch, 85 feet   
Buster Brown   5.13a     Sport, TR, 1 pitch, 80 feet   
Browse More Classics in Dude's Throne

Featured Route For Dude's Throne
Purple dots are approximate bolt locations (photo stolen from Kevin Gillest).

Uplift Mofo Party Plan 5.11b  CO : Golden : ... : Dude's Throne
Solve the first steep crux then turn on the afterburners and brachiate from huge rail-jug to rail-jug as the pump factor clock ticks down. Be ready for sustained steepness with big throws all the way to the anchors....[more]   Browse More Classics in CO


Photos of Dude's Throne Slideshow Add Photo
Vaino Kodas on Golden Gate, 5.11d.

Vaino Kodas on Golden Gate, 5.11d.

From the road.

From the road.

Mark's new guidebook: comprehensive, detailed information for Dude's Throne.

Mark's new guidebook: comprehensive, detailed info...

Dude's Panorama.

BETA PHOTO: Dude's Panorama.

Red arrow marks cairn, after leaving parking area, just past rest room and access road, direct trail to the West Face.

Red arrow marks cairn, after leaving parking area,...

Taken at Dude's at sunset.

Taken at Dude's at sunset.


Comments on Dude's Throne Add Comment
Show which comments
By Mark Rolofson
Nov 19, 2010

For the complete beta to Dude's Throne, Little Dude's Throne, and the Grendel, I just released a new guidebook titled "Golden Rock Climbs" (September 2010) that retails for $20.00. The guide is a complete guide to North Table Mountain including its four quarry walls. The latter part of the book is devoted to the sport climbs near Dude's Fishing Hole in Golden Gate State Park. Yes, it is quite the contrast to North Table's slick basalt and urban setting. For the warm season when the rattlesnakes come out on Table Mountain, head to mountains and nearby Golden Gate for the granite crags above 9,000 feet in beautiful, serene, pine forests. Dude's Throne is one of my favorite crags in Colorado with over 25 routes. Enjoy!

By M Lindfors
From: Highlands Ranch
Jun 5, 2011

Really cool place. Lots of fun climbs makes the hike up there worth it.

By Andrew S.
Jul 22, 2011

Dude's Throne is a way cool place to climb. Went up there yesterday, perfect weather, got rained on twice for about 5-10 min then cleared up again. All the rock is in great shape. There are some small shrubby plants at the base of Howdy Doody Time but can be easily avoided, and the rock is seeping water from all the rain.

By Joe Chorny
From: Golden, CO
Jul 29, 2011

Climb F. is a very nice 5.11a.
Climb M. is a terrific 5.11c with two .11b hangs. 3 of 4 stars.

By Bruce Pech
Mar 20, 2012

I haven't been climbing for a few years (illness, injuries) and wondered if Dude's Dihedral is still rated 11-. As I recall from a 2008 ascent, it seemed hard for the grade (or I was off-route).

By Kirk Miller
From: Golden, CO
Mar 21, 2012

Good to hear your getting back out there again, Bruce.
Mark Rolofson gives Dude's Dihedral .11b in Golden Rock Climbs. The crux sequence feels like .11 to me.

By SteveZ
From: Arvada, CO
Jul 27, 2012

We got stormed off of dude's throne pretty quickly today. Because of all the lightning we ended up leaving draws on buster brown (just left of dude's jam crack). I'll be back up to rescue them on Sunday... I'm just asking if everyone will be so kind as to leave them up there until then :). Makes for some good non-committal climbing if you're headed out tomorrow. Thanks!