Hueco Tanks partners - Feb /March 2024

I am planning a bouldering trip to Hueco Tanks sometime this February or March 2024. My dates are flexible and have not yet been set. I would love to coordinate with some Front Range climbers also planning or interested in heading down there sometime in Feb or March. This would be my first trip to HT and I am stoked to check it out. I am currently bouldering V7-V9 grades.  I will be road tripping it down there from Longmont with my pads. I haven't decided whether I will camp or bunk at the HT Rock Ranch.  Also, if anyone who has been there wants to share useful tips, beta, what to do/not do, etc.. Do folks suggest a bouldering guidebook to HT? Or is Kaya or Mountain Project good enough for navigating the area and boulders. I am all ears.!    

Hueco isn't on Kaya as a guide, but Mountain project is generally good enough for North (at least it was for me for plenty of classics). You might be able to find a second hand guidebook, but I'm not sure any are in print.

For east/west, your guide will be able to take you wherever you want, and you can just use MP for figuring out what you want to climb.

Pretty sure the north mountain guide is still easily available online.
The Sherman guide is available too, but some of the Amazon versions seem to be reprints and the photo quality is terrible. Check with Lowell at Crux to see if he has any genuine Sherman guides if you want one of those. It does include the entire park, but the coverage for north is harder to use, imho.
MP is mediocre at best

Zachary Ottwrote:

Hueco isn't on Kaya as a guide, but Mountain project is generally good enough for North (at least it was for me for plenty of classics). You might be able to find a second hand guidebook, but I'm not sure any are in print.

For east/west, your guide will be able to take you wherever you want, and you can just use MP for figuring out what you want to climb.

Thanks Zachary!  I actually hadn't thought about hiring a guide. Sounds like this might be important for first comers, especially if venturing out of the North section. 

Mark E Dixonwrote:

Pretty sure the north mountain guide is still easily available online.
The Sherman guide is available too, but some of the Amazon versions seem to be reprints and the photo quality is terrible. Check with Lowell at Crux to see if he has any genuine Sherman guides if you want one of those. It does include the entire park, but the coverage for north is harder to use, imho.
MP is mediocre at best

Liza Yorkwrote:

Thanks Zachary!  I actually hadn't thought about hiring a guide. Sounds like this might be important for first comers, especially if venturing out of the North section. 

Not sure how much research you have done, but it is actually required that you have a guide if you wish to visit any area in the park outside of North, whether you're climbing or not. And to climb/hike in North, you need to acquire a park permit for each day, which can be booked 3 months in advance, or you can wait in line at the gate for when there is room / people don't show up for their reservations. I can't attest to how busy the season is in feb/march, but it shouldn't book up anywhere as fast as the holidays.

Thank you Zachary. I was planning to get a park permit ahead of time for each day. But I was unaware of the guide needed for the areas you mention outside of the North area. 

If you want reservations ahead of time, call 512-389-8911. 

Call at 9 AM central/8 mountain.

I suspect all the February date are full, and maybe early March too.

You can try to get permits tomorrow for March 11. And ask if there are any permits available before then.

You are allowed to request 3 days worth of permits, so if you call tomorrow, you can ask for the 11th, 12th and 13th.

Then you are required to a skip a day before starting again with a cycle of 3 days.

The North Mountain guidebook has a good section on how to get into the park, buying one would be a good idea.

Have fun, Hueco is great!

Also- do some pictograph tours on your rest days. The Jornada Mogollon were pretty talented :-)

Hey, I'm down in Golden (but in grad school at CU) and would love link up. I've always wanted to go to Hueco and am also looking for more climbing friends that are women.

Let me know if you want to get out locally sometime. Climbing similar grades... V8-V10.  

More info....

The AAC Rock Ranch seems like a good choice if you are looking for partners. You can hang out in the barn and it's quite social. 

The dorm was too pricey for us, so can't comment.

If you have a partner and prefer to camp, camping in the park is quite pleasant, with advantages and disadvantages.

Hot shower, nice and quiet, definitely nicer sites than at the AAC or Gleatherland. You can go to the Park office at 8AM, before anybody else and get one of the 10 walk-in permits.

But, they lock the gate at 6 PM, so it's hard to get into town.

And most of the other campers will be RVers, not climbers.

Mark Dixon - Thanks for all the information!!  So helpful!  I am a member of the AAC and a real fan of their accommodations and overall vibe. I've stayed many times at the Teton ranch and I love it.

Going to Hueco 03/01-03/04 have permits for North 03/01-03/03 plan on leaving the front range Feb 28th or 29th and drive back either March 4th or 5th. Would be awesome to meet up with some people so I’m not bouldering alone the whole time. Staying at the AAC rock ranch so maybe can find some people to link up with there. Climbing in similar grade range. Project v7-v9.