Climbing in Hueco Tanks

Hueco Tanks is a unique climbing landscape defined by its natural rock basins — the namesake "huecos" — and arid west‑Texas setting, preserved as a state park and historic site. The site’s low, steep boulders demand compression, balance and subtle footwork, and the film footage here captures exactly that concentrated, problem‑by‑problem intensity.

Michael Call’s 2005 film Best Of The West brings a mid‑2000s bouldering crew back into Hueco’s pockets and slopers. The camera follows Chris Sharma alongside Boone Speed, Steve Maisch, GP Salvo, Jason Kehl, Mike Beck and Tim Kemple; the sequences emphasize hard attempts, careful beta and the quiet friendships that make long sessions tolerable. The piece is resolutely about climbing — attempts, camaraderie and the particular rhythm of projecting difficult problems — and the Hueco segments are useful for anyone interested in how a classic bouldering area looks on film: close framing on body positions, ground‑level work to read landings, and long lenses that turn short, technical moves into cinematic moments.

Because Hueco Tanks is both a cultural landmark and a concentrated bouldering zone, the footage here doubles as a study in technique: heel hooking, mantle sequences and the small positional shifts that turn a flash into a send.