Black Diamond Presents: Nalle Hukkataival, Tuzgle, Argentina
2020 · 11 min · Bouldering
Tuzgle sits at roughly 14,500 feet in northern Argentina, a valley of immaculate boulders that almost nobody climbs on. Hukkataival's line in the film is that if these blocs were parked near a Whole Foods in the States they would be the most famous rock in the world. Instead the altitude keeps them empty, visited only by people willing to travel a long way to breathe thin air and try hard. Nalle went with alpinist Matt Lloyd, and Nelson Carayannis of Mind Frame Cinema came back with a lot of footage: first ascents alongside repeats of the valley's established lines. It plays as a bouldering travelogue more than a projecting story, which suits the subject. Eleven minutes of enormous untouched stone in a place most viewers will never stand, shot well enough to make you want to go.
Review
A bouldering travelogue that makes its case with rock rather than talk. Nalle Hukkataival goes to Tuzgle, a valley of boulders at roughly 14,500 feet in northern Argentina, with the alpinist Matt Lloyd, and Nelson Carayannis of Mind Frame Cinema brings back eleven minutes of stone almost nobody has climbed on.
This is for climbers who like development more than projecting. First ascents sit alongside repeats of the valley's established lines, and the pleasure is seeing how much untouched rock is still out there. Skip it if you need a single problem to root for. The film never settles on one.
The best moment is Hukkataival's line about the blocs: parked near a Whole Foods in the States, he says, they would be the most famous rock in the world. It is funny and it is also the film's whole argument. Altitude keeps Tuzgle empty, and the footage of enormous, clean boulders with nobody around proves the point better than narration could.
What it gets wrong is scale. Eleven minutes is not enough to feel the thin air or the travel, and the film hints at both without showing either. The Lappnor Project, the other Hukkataival film on this site, is the opposite: one boulder, years of attempts, and all the weight that comes with it. Tuzgle is the lighter, broader companion. I prefer Lappnor, but this is the one that makes me want to book a flight.
