Article: Hueco Tanks Bouldering

Overview:
Situated in a relatively high-altitude desert basin between the Franklin Mountains to the west and the Hueco Mountains to the east Hueco Tanks is an impressive sight. Its natural battlements and fortifications strike a stark contrast to the surrounding “flatlands” and seen in the fading light the area has an almost other worldly ambiance. The word Hueco derives from the Spanish word for hollow and refers to the varying sized in cut bowl-like features splattered across the crags, boulders and pavements. These hollows where used as miniature reservoirs or “tanks” by the Native American Indians (Apache’s) who called the area home from around 1500AD until the 18th century.

Considered by many to be the most compactly concentrated source of high class bouldering (of all grades) in the USA, Hueco is a must visit destination for all diehard blocsport fans. With thousands of problems and an awesome winter climate it's not hard to see why thousands of people make a yearly pilgrimage to “The Tanks”. Even with the continuing bureaucracy added in the late 1990’s Hueco is still an incredible place to visit.


General Information:
The bouldering at Hueco Tanks is situated around 25 miles east of El Paso, Texas within the Hueco Tanks Historic State Park. The fact that it is in a state historic park means that there are lots of rules to know and follow. As of November 2007 the entrance fee to the park was $4 per person.


You have two realistic options when visiting the park. First up, you could base your attack plan around the self-guided area of North Mountain; you will need to pre-book reservations to guarantee this option - for reservations more than 24 hours in advance, call the Austin reservation service at 1-512-389-8900. Alternatively, if you wish to visit more of the areas you can book (at the Hueco Tanks HQ) a guide to take you around the other sectors. If you get lucky a registered guide who wishes to go climbing may take you for free, although if this is not possible, or you’re after visiting to a specific area, a commercial guide can be hired (book at least 24 hours in advance) for groups upward of 8 people, this works out at around $10 each. Before entering the park you will be required to watch a 20 minute orientation video regarding the history of the park, explaining the do’s and don’ts of the area.

Photo: Sam Cattell on Full Service V10


The park itself is broken up into four areas or “mountains”; North Mountain, East Mountain, West Mountain and East Spur. As explained above, with the exception of North Mountain, you must have a guide and be a part of a tour to climb in any of the areas.

Getting there:
You can fly to Hueco’s nearest city (El Passo, Texas) from a number of major UK airports, with most flights going via either Chicago or New York. Ebookers.com is a good port call for the various connotations and a flight quote. Once in El Paso the state park is approximately 25 miles east along Highway 180 (Montana Blvd). Where the road begins to fade into one lane (right lane ends) there will be a left turn and a sign indicating Hueco Tanks Historic State Park is 8 miles to the north - look out for the Flying Saucer shaped building.

When to go:
The winter season is the primo time to visit Hueco (November through to March) with temperatures varying from 5 to 22 degrees, plenty of sunshine and very low rainfall, it makes for great climbing conditions. Be warned if you are camping temperatures often fall well below freezing during the night so bring a decent sleeping bag, tent and plenty of warm clothes.


Where to stay:
Camping: Rock Ranch & State Park Campsite - The Hueco Rock Range is close to the park although you will need to drive in each day. It costs $5/night per person and tends to accomadate large numbers of climbers. There is a common area indoors (barn) to hang out and here you can sign up for any commercial tours. The barn contains board games, a TV, table football and a small climbing outlet.

The state park campground, that as of January 2007 cost $14/night (with water and electricity), is a bit swankier and situated within the park itself. The disadvantage of the state park campground is that they lock the gate at 6pm each day so even on rest days you have to be back in the park by six. That said, the state park does have nicer facilities and is usually quieter, plus you can walk to the bouldering from here. There are some weird rules in the park though; such as only being able to register a site for 3 days at a time under one name (this is the same throughout the US state park system) and each vehicle can only be on the same site for 6 nights in a row after which you'll have to move sites. You also have to pay the $4 park entry fee even if you are not climbing a day. The $4 park entry fee is waived if you or a person in the same vehicle has a Texas State Park Pass.

Photo: Neil Kershaw on Daily Dick Dose V7


Hotels: If you’re after something a little more civilized there are numerous hotels/motels in El Paso, and, as you're there in the "off season", if you’re prepared to hunt/haggle around you can get a pretty good deal on a room – if there are enough of you it’s even possible to get some digs that works out even cheaper than camping! On the down side you’re going to have to trawl the 25 miles, there and back, to the park on each climbing day.

Amenities:
Despite what the guide book intimates there is a small amount of climbing gear available for purchase at the Rock Ranch, including chalk, tape and crash pads.

The nearest supermarket to the park (11.1 miles) is Vista Mercado, which is on the left when following Montana back toward El Paso. For the nearest petrol station and cash machine head for Phillips 66, this is also on Montana 11.3 miles from the park on the right. If you’re after internet access there are dozens of coffee shops and Wi-fi hot spots in El Paso itself.

Photo: Neil Kershaw on Baby Face Arete V7


Useful beta:
You can buy a Texas State Parks pass for $60 (one name) or $75 (two names). The pass allows entry into the park for everyone in the same vehicle as the pass-holder. Therefore if you are planning on climbing with just one other person you will make your money back within 8 days of climbing. The Texas State Parks Pass will be available at most state parks and historic sites, as well as through the Customer Service Center in Austin, Texas (1-512-389-8900).

If you know the dates you will be in Hueco then I’d recommend making a reservation for every day you will be there. Again there are some twists to this such as you can only reserve three days in a row under one name. However you can reserve under your name for two people, then have your partner reserve under their name for two people. For rest days you can cancel your reservation and the money will be refunded to your credit card.

Photo: Simon Moore on Loaded with Power V9


If you don't have reservations then you can wait at the gate in the morning and the first 10 people will be allowed to get a pass for climbing at North Mountain. If you stay in the state park you can get to the office before 8am and will have a better chance of being one of the first 10 people. As pointed out earlier, signing up for a volunteer tour will only get you in the park if a volunteer guide shows up. Hiring a commercial guide is a guaranteed way to get in the park and go where you want, but you can't go to North Mountain on a tour.

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* For further inspiration check out the Best of the West DVD here.
* Purchase the Hueco bouldering guide here.