Bouldering access returns to the Five Bimbos boulders of East Mountain, Hueco Tanks, Texas! This area is home to the classic problems of Damsel In Distress (V0), Three Star Arete (V2), Assault of the Killer Bimbos (V5), and New Map to Hell (V12).

Hueco Tanks State Park closed The Five Bimbos to climbing in 1999 after their climbing impact assessment determined that the heavy foot traffic of boulderers in the area caused loss of vegetation and erosion. In the 18 years since the closure, the vegetation has bounced back.

Boulderers can thank the Climbers of Hueco Tanks Coalition, who collaborated with the Texas Park and Wildlife Department along with other members of the Hueco Tanks climbing community, for this hard-earned access victory.

“It is a privilege for us to re-open this area,” Climbers of Hueco Tanks Coalition stated in a press release.

The caveat, new rules: “There are some strict guidelines that climbers must adhere to in order to keep the area open,” the press release stated. “There should be no foot traffic in the meadow around the boulder and entry and exit to the area will be limited to one point on the rocks as indicated on the attached map. Only one tour at a time will be allowed in the area, no matter tour size. This should limit the impact to the area.”

Please abide by the rules. Local climbers and climbing organizations like the Climbers of Hueco Tanks Coalition work hard to protect our access. Last weekend, the Climbers of Hueco Tanks Coalition hosted their annual “Climber Clean Up” day in the park—their most successful yet. Over 60 participants came out to scrub chalk off chalk-caked classics and haul out trash.

“This has been a long process, please respect the above guidelines and future climbers will have the chance to enjoy these boulders too,” Climbers of Hueco Tanks Coalition states. “Enjoy!”

For more information, please visit huecoclimbers.org.