Hueco Tanks Bouldering! - Day 1 North Mountain.

The Split Crack V0

The drive out to Hueco was much shorter than I thought but much wetter too.  As soon as I left Tucson I was driving in rain all the way there. I had reservations for North Mountain for Thursday and I was very worried that I wouldn't be able to climb at all. Luckily for me the rain stopped early morning and there were some rocks that dried out enough to climb.

Place that is not so dry... That's the trail, not a stream...

It was a fairly laid back day of climbing V0- to V2s. In the morning I climbed with a friendly group from New Mexico and towards the afternoon I met up with Matty and "The Dude Man" and climb with them the rest of the day.

At the warm up boulder doing the Thunderbird V1. Top out is definitely the crux.

 It was definitely nice to climb with other folks. The company was great and so was the spots and extra pads. Many of the top outs at Hueco are fairly tall and often seems to be the crux. Although most climbs had fairly good landings but then there are some known for their horrible landings...

 

Melon Patch V0

The Melon Patch is a fairly mellow V0 that is quite fun but it is not for the faint of heart. The climb is pretty tall and the landing is terrible. I would not recommend it for people that aren't climbing V1s comfortably and am fully comfortable climbing outdoors. If it wasn't for Matty and "The Dude Man"'s pad and spotting I probably would not have tried it. It is important to remember that no matter how good a climber you are safety is very important. Nobody wants to get hurt and have to take many weeks off.

Southern Hospitality V2

My favorite climb of the day was a 2 star V2 called Southern Hospitality. I had to work out my beta before I could finish the climb but I had fun figuring it out.  If you try the climb but am struggling a bit try changing your beta to something that might not seems quite as obvious. If you want my beta e-mail me and I'll tell you how I climbed it.
One thing I definitely learned about Hueco is that you don't have to climb really hard climbs to have fun. Even the easier climbs can be a lot of fun. :o)

Hueco Tanks - Guides

Hueco Bouldering Guide

This book is the standard guide to buy if you are planning to boulder at Hueco Tanks. There are maps, good descriptions and photos to guide you to your problems. The book is well organized into sections based on locations. There is even a list of all climbs in a certain rating ordered according to how "classic" the climbs are. Besides acting as a good bouldering guide the book also has many helpful information about camping, rest day activities and food options.
There are some information that does need to be updated. The following are some updated information.

- The ever so beloved mushroom boulder is no longer open for climbing.
- There is a small climbing store inside the "barn" at Hueco Rock Ranch that sells Chalk and guidebooks.
- There is a climbing gear store that operates out of a truck trailer on the way to the ranch. I believe it is only open on the weekends.
- There is WiFi access at the Hueco Rock Ranch.
- The Closest Grocery store is the Montana Vista Grocery. The store has almost anything you need but I do not believe they sell hard liquor. If they do I did not see it.

The book is pretty comprehensive but it still can't beat just asking fellow boulderers when you are stumped.
Also do not buy the cheap $10ish guidebook. It is not worth the money you will save.

Hueco Tanks - Camping

Unfortunately the Hueco Rock Ranch is more of a looker at night.

The drive out to Hueco was much shorter than I thought but much wetter too. As soon as I left Tucson I was driving in rain all the way there. Fortunately after I grabbed a tasty Ribeye Steak Sandwich for lunch at the The Great American Land & Cattle Company the rain cleared up and gave me enough time to drive to the Hueco Rock Ranch just west of Hueco Tanks State Park and set up my tent.
The Hueco Rock Ranch is the most convenient place to stay when visiting Hueco Tanks. There are few camping spots at the park itself but you need reservations in advance and they lock the gates at 6pm meaning once it hits 6pm you can't drive out of the park.
At the Hueco Rock Ranch all you need to do is drive up and find an empty spot and set up your tent. If the "Shop" inside the barn is open you can purchase a camping spot for $5 per person per night. If they aren't open you can go by in the morning to buy the camping spot. For your $5 you get access to a camping site and access to the following amenities. 3 porta potties, a cooking area, a "barn" that contains 1 sink with running water, 1 shower with hot water, a general hangout room with a ping pong table and a foosball table. The barn does have electrical outlets you can use. I believe there is wifi in the campgrounds but I was told the wifi does not really work inside the barn. Since my laptop batteries last less than 30 minutes outside I am taking advantage of my rest day to update my blog from a cafe that has wifi.
The schedules might change but during my stay Thursday night was a movie night and Sat. was a themed party night. Everything at the Ranch is a bit down and dirty. As one of my fellow campers called the place ideal for "dirt bagging", living cheap so you can just focus on bouldering. If you want a more refined living situation you can stay in the house for $30 a night.
During my stay in early Feb. The days were a very comfortable temperatures but I will recommend you bring a jacket for the climbing spots in the shade. At night it does get pretty cold so I would recommend you gear up accordingly. There is a big communal campfire every night at the ranch to warm you up.

Hueco Rock Ranch 

17498 Bettina Avenue

El Paso, TX 79938-8721

Get Directions

(915) 855-0142


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Tucson Bouldering! - Gates Pass

My 2nd day of climbing was at Gates Pass. Gates pass is a short drive east from downtown Tucson. Even if there aren't too many climbs at Gates Pass I recommend you drive through Gates Pass Park just to take in the amazing scenery.

While going west on Gates Pass park at parking marker G6, which will be on your left. There is a very short hike to the Lower Boulders. I climbed at Lower and Upper boulders. There is a mix of climbs ranging from VB to V6s. The unnamed V2 on the lower boulder was my favorite climb. It was great to get some climbs in and just sit back and enjoy the amazing scenery. I would not recommend Gates Pass if you looking for a full day of climbing but as a short break Gates Pass is a great place to be.

Tucson Bouldering! - Mt. Lemmon

First full day in Tucson I bouldered at Mt. Lemmon. There may be some great bouldering at Mt. Lemmon but unfortunately I was too busy bush whacking through snow to climb too much. Me and my couch surfing host Eric wandered through the mountain to find the Secret Gully. Apparently the Gully wanted to stay hidden. It took many tries but we finally made it! But many of the landings were pretty bad and there was so much vegetation that grew around the rocks that we had a hard time getting some good climbing in. Even so the trip up there was amazing. To go from desert filled with saguaro to snowy peaks was an amazing drive.

Joshua Tree Bouldering!

Unless you are a slab climber friction extraordinaire bouldering in Joshua Tree can be very tough. I personally am not a very good slab climber and had a hard time even on some V0s. I think some of the crystals must have flaked off making the climb harder but it is all speculations. I did find some fun climbs though. My favorite was Block Party(V3) at Turtle Rock Circuit near Hidden Valley picnic area.

The problem was a nice break from trying to climb slabs. My beta for this climb is jump up high keeping the right hand on the right side of the flake, pinch hard and then use the left hand as an undercling. Once you get past the start climb up the crack. The crux is definitely the start move.

Joshua Tree Camping

My first stop on the cross country trip was Joshua Tree. If you have never been to J-Tree you are missing out. It's a wonderland of Granite and Joshua trees. As for Jumbo Rocks and Hidden Valley are some popular spots but there is another great campground that people should check out. The site is called White Tank. The sites are pretty cool and there is a very short hike to the White Tank Arch.
Couple of my friends have joined me at Joshua Tree to send me off on my trip. I have to say it was awesome to have my friends camping with me. Thank you all for coming out. It was hard to say good bye to all my friends but I promise I'll be back and with some amazing photos and stories :o)