Girls Gone Hueco is a New North American Bouldering Film
We talk with Midori Buechli, climber and producer of the upcoming climbing film set to be released in September 2023
Photo by: Jessica Best
Girls Gone Hueco is an exciting new bouldering film from climber and producer Midori Buechli. Filmed in January 2023 over a three-week bouldering trip in Hueco Tanks, Texas, the 45-minute film features an all-women crew of strong double-digit Canadian and American boulderers. Directed by Long Truong and Julie Ellison, Girls Gone Hueco debuts in September 2023 and its first official trailer dropped today.
As described in the official film synopsis, Girls Gone Hueco “celebrates the fiery girl gang energy that naturally happens when you get a group of strong ladies together. Coming from different backgrounds, the climbers each have a unique personality, perspective, and approach to climbing. The film will highlight those differences and show that there’s no one way to ‘be a climber.'”
To learn more about the upcoming film, we spoke with Buechli. Originally from a tiny town in Northern Ontario called Monetville, she started climbing back in 2010 as an undergrad at Laurentian University’s bouldering room.
Where did the idea for the film come from? “The idea for Girls Gone Hueco was birthed in summer 2022,” said Buechli. “I had just watched Mellow’s Alphane – such an awesome and inspiring video – but it made me think about how V17 means absolutely nothing to me, because it is worlds beyond anything I’ll ever be capable of! I thought it would be great for a film to showcase climbs and stories that were more relatable. Additionally, women are still under-represented in climbing media and I wanted to feature climbers who are not pros, who have careers, but are still able to achieve impressive things in this sport!”
The five climbers featured in the film include Buechli, who lives in Toronto, Amanda Barlaug out of Squamish, Zoe Beauchemin from Vancouver, Sera Gearhart from Salt Lake City, and Jennifer Debellis, an American who lives a nomadic van-based lifestyle. “Interestingly, I had never climbed with Amanda, Zoe, or Sera before the trip,” Buechli told me. “It was quite challenging to find a group of women all climbing around the same level who were willing to come to Texas and meet up with a stranger from the internet to climb and be filmed for three weeks!”
And why was Hueco Tanks chosen as the location for the film? “To boulderers, Hueco is paradise; the rock formations just begging to be climbed,” Buechli said. “Consistent weather patterns, high quality rock, and densely concentrated “crags” makes it the perfect climbing destination. Also, some of the climbers had never been there before and I was really excited to share the magic of Hueco with them…plus Girls Gone Hueco just rolls off the tongue!”
Premiere Dates
TORONTO
DATE: Friday September 15
LOCATION: Isabel Bader Theatre
TIME: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
SALT LAKE CITY
DATE: Friday September 29
LOCATION: Megaplex Valleyfair
TIME: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
VANCOUVER
DATE: Tuesday October 10
LOCATION: Rio Theatre
TIME: 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Tickets can be purchased on the Girls Gone Hueco shop.
Trailer
Official Film Synopsis:
Girls Gone Hueco features five female climbers from the U.S. and Canada converging on historic Hueco Tanks, Texas, to celebrate the fiery girl gang energy that naturally happens when you get a group of strong ladies together. Coming from different backgrounds, the climbers each have a unique personality, perspective, and approach to climbing. The film will highlight those differences and show that there’s no one way to “be a climber.”
With full-time jobs as a software engineer, nurse, marketing manager, dog trainer, and healthcare policy analyst, these women are not pro climbers, but they’ve dedicated their lives to getting after it and climbing hard boulder problems whenever they can. The film will also call attention to the Indigenous history of Hueco, and how climbers can responsibly and respectfully interact with such sacred ground. Girls Gone Hueco isn’t just about showcasing rad climbs, but also to show the world that women are stronger together than we are divided. But of course, there will be plenty of impressive sending going on too!
Feature photo of Amanda Barlaug on Mexican Chicken V6 by Jessica Best.
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
