Hueco Tanks guidebook review

Rock climbing and bouldering are rooted in the idea of exploration, discovery, and adventure but there are plenty of times when you want to spend less time roaming the countryside looking for something to climb and more time climbing. Hence, the guidebook.

Climbing guidebooks have evolved quite a bit over the years. What was once a list of routes and hand-sketched topos is now a combination of high-res digital photos, route descriptions, gear lists, danger ratings, and beta.

Hueco Tanks: The Essential Guide to America's Bouldering Mecca by Matt Wilder and produced by Wolverine Publishing (2004) is a set up from the typical guides of today. Every page contains high quality color photographs making it a cinch to match up the boulder in the field with what you see in the book. Placing the photos alongside the more traditional overview line topos and directions means you should have no problem locating the exact project you want to try.

Hueco Tanks covers all the necessities of getting to Hueco, reservations, access, camping and amenities in a no-frills to-the-point manner that's appreciated by climbers. The route descriptions provide enough info to document the route but not so much to take the surprise out of that hidden crimper you discover midway through the crux.

Being one the best bouldering areas in the world requires a great guidebook and this is certainly one of them.