Let’s get one thing straight – Hueco is probably on the podium of most-filmed bouldering locations in the world, along with Fontainebleau and Switzerland. Even here on these pages we’ve reviewed Best of the West (on YouTube for FREE), Free Hueco, and Thrutch (also FREE). That just leaves Huecos Rancheros, and the rarely spoken of “Climbers of Hueco Tanks Club DVD #1”. Today, we cross the former off the list.

Hueco Rancheros (Trailer) starts off with a few quick sends and a punchy montage to get you into the Hueco vibe. This film isn’t some big story arc like Best of the West, and its not just a disjoint collection of sends like Thrutch (no offense JBone). No, this is 30ish minutes that seems to catalog a multi-day trip to Hueco with Ethan Pringle and friends. With that simple premise comes a simple film that doesn’t overcomplicate things. While there are occasional glamour shots of the beautiful surroundings, and a few slice-of-life clips showing what climbers do “off the wall”, there’s very little fluff, or over-produced/’artistic’ editing. There is a constant musical soundtrack that pervades all the scenes that’s mostly electronic but not quite dub-step, and a near total lack of dialogue or voiceover.

There is one feature of this film that I have to cite specifically for extra props. In many films where there’s a climber with obvious star power, they tend to get all the glory-shots and uncut ascents. In this case, its more fairly distributed. Pringle still gets well over half the sends shown, but it does open with Jen Atkin crushing the V-double-digit Doggie Jump, and a few others get the glory on mega-classics like The Egg and Full Service (editor: Justin, those aren’t just “classic” because they’re on your to-do list, are they?). On the flipside, near rock-God Pringle is show very delicately working through Bloodline which checks in about about 1/3 of his maximum V-grade ability. Despite these props, I’ve got some bad news…

Verdict: Skip It. I know, I just said a lot of nice things, but this film has a few strikes against it. The two films listed above flank it on either side of the genre spectrum, are twice as long, and are streaming free. That and now that “iClimb” has folded, I don’t know that you can find a copy anywhere.

Quote of the Film: “I think I might have sharted!”

The Who:
Jen Atkin, Jeremy Bini, Mark Heal, Josh Horsley, Keith Allen, and Ethan Pringle

The What:
Hueco Tanks, TX (DUH)
Doggie Jumo
Dean’s Journey
Alf in a Blender
Lianne
Mexican Chicken
The Egg
Sol Adumentum
The French Tickler
Down in Flames
McBain
Adjust Your Attitude
Tequila Sunrise
Loaded Direct
Bloodline
Full Service
The Machinist
The Governator