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This is a list of all the latest news and happenings at all six Touchstone Facilities. This blog also contains general information about Rock Climbing, Cycling and other items that Touchstone members may find interesting. Thursday, May 1, 2008Fundraiser for Laila! Saturday, May 10th! As some of you may know, in mid-April, Laila (Berkeley Ironworks staffer Tommy Halvorson's dog) fell from the top of Main Rock at Mickey’s Beach. Apparently she is made of rubber, escaping the 50-60 foot fall with only a broken leg. However, repairing her leg came with a very large price tag-around $8,000. Luckily, Laila is a part of the Touchstone community and on Saturday, May 10 from 6-10pm, BIW is putting on a Bouldering Comp to raise money for the vet bills! That’s right, Bouldering for Laila! There will be free beer and hot dogs, prizes for the winner of each division, a raffle with some amazing prizes for climbers and non-climbers alike, music, climbing, all the things you have come to love from Touchstone Climbing comps. all the proceeds/donations go to helping this little girl get back to playing frisbee. We hope to see you there!!! Labels: climbing, community, comps, staff  Monday, April 28, 2008SCS stops by the DRG...Next stop GWPC This past Saturday Diablo Rock Gym hosted a local red point rope climbing competition as part of the USA Climbing Sport Climbing Series. It was a window into the future of climbing with most of the 60 competitors under the age of 19 and as young as 8 years old. To view results please visit the competition page and to see photos visit the online gallery. Wish them all luck for the duration of the season and at the upcoming Northern California Regional On-sight competition on May 17th at the Great Western Power Company. Wednesday, April 16, 2008TRS Wants YOU!!! It is once again time to get out your rope, tie in and climb. Touchstone Climbing is pleased to bring back the Touchstone Roped Series for its third year. This will be a series of five Roped Climbing comps that will be held on Friday evenings, one at all five of the Touchstone locations. All events will include a red point roped comp as well as refreshments, games and prizes. Points will be awarded for each comp with overall winners being announced after the final comp. The first event will be held Touchstone's newest gym, the Great Western Power Co. in Oakland on May 16th. There will be a comp each month for the following five months, with the finale coming in September at Mission Cliffs in San Francisco.May 16th G.W.P.C June 13th Diablo Rock Gym July 11th Berkeley Ironworks August 22nd Sacramento Pipeworks September 26th Mission Cliffs All comps will be from 6pm to 10pm and FREE FOR MEMBERS! Labels: climbing, comps, concord, ironworks, mission cliffs, oakland, pipeworks Wednesday, April 2, 2008TBS3 finale @ Berkeley Ironworks Berkeley Ironworks will be hosting the TBS3 Finale on Friday April 4th starting @ 6pm. This is your last chance to rack up points for the TBS3 series as series winners will be announced after the comp. Never tried a Touchstone Bouldering Series comp? Well, it more fun that you might think since it's more about fun than competition. The entire bouldering area (plus a little more) will be set with all new problems to test your mettle. When you are too tired to climb anymore, we will have beer, beverages & pizza to finish off the night. But don't leave too early because we will have a prize raffle at the end. See you there! Wednesday, February 27, 2008One Last Comp at Class 5 Class 5 will be hosting the next TBS3 comp on Friday, February 29th. Prepare for amazing bouldering, a DJ, food, drink, twister and a limbo contest! Friday Februray 29th, 6-10pm Free for Members This will be the last comp at this location for Class 5. On February 12, our landlord for Class 5 notified us that we have 60 days to vacate the premises. This is devastating news to all of us at Touchstone Climbing. We have been committed to providing San Rafael and all of Marin County with a high quality rock climbing facility. While we have been actively looking and will continue to look for a replacement facility in Marin, we have not at this time found a suitable building for our unique needs. We are sad to announce that we will be closing Class 5 on March 31st, 2008. So come on down and enjoying at climbing at Class 5, have some fun and pull down hard! Labels: class 5, climbing, comps, event Monday, February 18, 2008TBS3 Rocked the House at MC Mission Cliffs hosted the largest comp of the series with over 250 competitors participating at the TBS3 comp on Friday, February 8th. Incredible bouldering problems were set in the bouldering area, in addition to a number of problems that were set downstairs on the main floor. Be sure to check out the results page at http://touchstoneclimbing.com/comps.html.Highlights of the evening included guest DJ’s Tony and Keith, bouldering the party room table, and the consumption of over 60 XL Pizzas! Whoa! Big thanks to everyone for your continued support for this growing series. Let’s continue to break new records! Two more comps to go, we will see you at Class 5 on Friday, February 29th from 6-10pm. Check out our photos Touchstone Gallery. More to come…. Labels: climbing, comps, mission cliffs Thursday, January 17, 2008Oakland TBS3: Fun as Always The fourth stop on the TBS3 didn't disappoint. Outstanding boulder problems, a good turnout and plenty of beer, soda and pizza made for an excellent night out. Many of the participants commented on the superiority of the course setting and the mellow vibe before thanking staff for putting on such a great party. With 150 competitors, there was lots of excitement and energy. Natasha Barnes handily won the Women's Advanced category and Gregor Peirce, yet again topped the Men's Advanced. You can see pictures of the comp in the Touchstone Gallery and your score for the series HERE as well as your score from the GWPC comp HERE. Thanks again for the incredible work by the course setters and to Metolius for providing some awesome raffle prizes. See you next month at Class 5 and Mission Cliffs! Photo: Natasha Barnes exhibiting her fingers of steel. Labels: climbing, comps, oakland Tuesday, January 8, 2008TBS Stops in Oakland In January, the TBS3 makes its first stop ever to the new Great Western Power Company. Come by for a fun community event that will include great bouldering, pizza, beverages and a chance to win some cool raffle prizes from Metolius. PLUS, everyone competing in their FIRST comp of the series will receive the best boars hair brush available; perfect for cleaning holds on your latest sick project. Registration will begin at 5:30pm and the comp starts at 6pm sharp. Please note: In order to make the boulder problems the best ever, the bouldering area at GWPC will be closed starting TODAY, Tuesday the 8th until the comp starts on Friday the 11th at 6PM. Labels: climbing, comps, oakland Thursday, December 27, 2007TBS Hits Sac The third of seven stops for Touchstones Bouldering Series 3 was a big hit for boulderers of all abilities. Boasting over 60 problems ranging from V-0 to V-11, TBS 3 was held at Sacramento Pipeworks on Friday December 14th, with more than 125 people in attendance. Andres, who doubles as Pipeworks head route setter by day, played DJ - keeping energy high and the crowd in the groove. Pictures can be seen in the online gallery.Results are posted on our competitions page: http://touchstoneclimbing.com/comps.html Sideshows included a brilliant slack line competition that produced eye-popping tricks, as well as a donut eating contest that made the crowd roar! See you all at Great Western Power Company on January 11th as TBS3 will continue into the new year. Labels: climbing, comps, pipeworks Wednesday, November 28, 2007TBS3 Photos Now Up Photos of TBS3 competition held at Touchstone San Jose on November 16th can now be viewed in the Touchstone Gallery. Touchstone San Jose blew up the South Bay’s bouldering scene with a hair under 200 competitors, and well over 50 spectators! Fat Tire flowed from the tap while With DJ’s Tony and Keith rocked the house with their set of funky and tech house, jungle, drum-&-bass, hip-hop, and some good old rock’n roll to keep the community climbing strong. Results can be viewed on Touchstone’s competition page. To all those who came out to compete, spectate, and support the best indoor bouldering in the South Bay to make it Touchstone San Jose’s biggest competition yet, thank you! See you all in Pipeworks on December 14th! Labels: climbing, comps, san jose Thursday, November 1, 2007Concord Kick Starts TBS3 Concord’s attendance was higher than normal this last Friday. Maybe it was the 60 new boulder problems, it could have been that it was member guest day, or possibly it was the free pizza and beer (thanks to Pyramid Brewery in Walnut Creek). Regardless 154 climbers picked up a scorecard and took to the walls. Thank to all those who helped put together the first bouldering comp of the 3rd season, specifically the awesome Concord desk staff, the course setters for the fun (and sometimes frustrating problems), and those unsung hero’s who tabulated the scorecards behind the curtain. See you all in San Jose on November 16th. To check out photos from Friday night check out the competition gallery and for the latest results check out the competition page. Labels: climbing, comps, concord Thursday, October 25, 2007Forget Your Harness Forget your Harness this Friday. TBS3 Returns to Concord. This Friday kicks off the 3rd Touchstone Bouldering Series. Make your way to Concord to check out the 60+ new problems the route setters perfected just for you or come to enjoy the FREE pizza & beer/soda and cheer on your friends. All abilities are welcome, with problems ranging from V-0 through V-ridiculous. While you’re here make sure to wish Touchstone Concord a Happy 5th Birthday and pick up a limited edition anniversary shirt for only $5. Who: All Touchstone Members & non-members What: TBS3: The best bouldering comp around Where: Touchstone Concord When: October 26, 2007 from 6pm to 10pm (Registration opens at 5pm) Why: Its fun (and there is free pizza) Cost: FREE to members! $10 for non-members Labels: climbing, comps, concord Wednesday, October 24, 2007The Hopefuls Crush The name says it all. They were hoping to win and well...they did, actually, they dominated. Patrick Whalen, Chris Gade, Johannes Burge and Sean Vora absolutely annihilated the competition in the second Berkeley Ironworks 3on3 basketball tournament of the year. In a gripping finale the Hopefuls triumphed over the Monstars 12-1, taking home the coveted prize: one month free membership at Ironworks. The team is seen here having a post game giggle, probably in reference to the one lonely point the Monstars scored. A spectator, commenting on the game, said, "Man, I really thought that one basket was going to be a turning point for the Monstars, but was I wrong, they got crushed!"The Hopefuls will have a chance to defend their title in the not too distant future. Stay tuned for dates and prizes. Looking to play a little pick-up basketball? There are games on every Wednesday night at 7pm. Come join the fun! Thursday, October 11, 2007TRS Comes to an End at GWPC The second annual Touchstone Rope Series came to a raucous end at the Great Western Power Company last Friday evening. With more beer and pizza than the many competitors and spectators could consume and 14 amazing climbs courtesy of Ben Polanco and the awesome Touchstone route setters, everyone headed home full, tired and with smiles on their faces. Just the fun of getting to climb in the new Oakland facility created a buzz of excitement and good cheer. One of the evening's highlights was the post-comp pull-up competition that determined the winner of the Men's Advanced category. Doug Boethling eked out a victory over Dustin Park by completing 21 pull-ups. The rest of the results can be seen on our comps page and photos of the competition can be found both here and here. Thanks to all those who participated and made the roped series such a successful Touchstone Community event! Labels: climbing, comps, oakland Tuesday, October 9, 2007TBS3 Starts This Month!!!Touchstone Climbing will once again host the Touchstone Bouldering Series, now in its third season. With the opening of the Great Western Power Co. in Oakland, the series will expand to seven comps this year, that will be held on Friday evenings, one at each of the Touchstone locations. All events will include a red point Bouldering comp as well as refreshments, games and prizes. Points will be award for each comp with overall winners being announced after the final comp. The first event will be held in October in Concord and will conclude this year at Berkeley Ironworks. These comps are FREE for Touchstone Members Concord October 26th, 2007 in Concord San Jose November 16th, 2007 in San Jose Pipeworks December 14th, 2007 in Sacramento G.W.P.C. January 11th, 2008 in Oakland Mission Cliffs February 8th, 2008 in San Francisco Class 5 February 29th, 2008 in San Rafael Ironworks April 4th, 2008 in Berkeley Labels: class 5, climbing, comps, concord, ironworks, mission cliffs, oakland, pipeworks, san jose, touchstone Wednesday, October 3, 2007TRS Finale in OAKLAND!!! The TRS Season 2 has been a huge success. A whopping 389 individual competitors have partied it up at the last five comps: eating pizza, drinking beer and soda and climbing some of the best routes indoor climbing has to offer. But all good things must come to an end, at least until next year's TRS. Yep, it's Finale time. And the TRS2 Finale, scheduled for Friday, October 5, looks to be the most exciting comp yet. First, the series finale will be held at Touchstone's newest gym, the Great Western Power Company. Add to that a neck-in-neck battle for the Men's Advance first place spot and you have the makings of an action-packed competition. If you have been eagerly awaiting the opening of the GWPC, you won't want to miss this comp! The finale will be a special sneak preview of the gym, which will not be open for regular business prior to or immediately following the comp. Doors will open for registration at 5:15 PM and the comp will start promptly at 6 PM. This event is FREE to Touchstone members and for this comp only, FREE to non-members as well. Take a look at the GWPC web pages for more information about the gym and to get directions. Take this opportunity to discover how convenient it is to ride BART - GWPC is only one block away from the 19th and Broadway station! Thursday, August 9, 2007SF to Host TRS2 TRS season 2 continues at Mission Cliffs this Friday, August 10 from 6-10pm. This red point roped comp will be the fourth comp in the series where points will be awarded. Overall winners of the series will be announced at the final comp in October at the Great Western Power Company in Oakland. Join us for this festive, friendly and relaxed member comp! This is an event not to be missed. Free for members and only $10 for non-members.Labels: comps, mission cliffs Wednesday, August 8, 2007Trible Trouble Head to the Front This coming August 10th and 11th, three members of San Jose’s bouldering community, Citahbria “Tofu” Richards (aka Tobi), Lilly “LilBit” Nguyen, and staff member Michael Abell, will be competing in the Mammut-EMS Bouldering Championships and Citizens’ Comp at The Front Climbing Club in Salt Lake City, Utah. Formerly known as Send Fest, the Mammut-EMS Bouldering Championships and Citizens’ Comp draws in some of the best climbers from across the nation to compete for a $5,000 cash prize.Analogous to the three Musketeers, Tobi, Lilly, and Mike are often taken as an inseparable unit. Recently, the they took a trip to Squamish, B.C. to boulder, and quickly dispensed of classic lines such as Squamish Days, Cutting Edge, Superfly, and Sloppy Poppy, as well as harder and more striking lines such as Worm World, Tatonka, and Sesame Street. The trio of San Jose climbers are psyched to take their renewed motivation, strength, and energy indoors to do well and have fun at the comp. The South Bay wishes Tobi, Lilly, and Mike all the best in their travels and competition in Utah! Labels: climbing, comps, members, san jose Monday, July 16, 2007We Are Competitive
This past weekend was full of competitions for Touchstone Climbing.
On Friday night, Berkeley Ironworks hosted the 3rd stage in the Touchstone Roped Series. This was the biggest turnout yet for a TRS event with over 128 climbers turning in scorecards. You can check out the complete results here. The next TRS event will be on August 10th at Mission Cliffs.  On Saturday, the Touchstone Cycling teams took to the hills. Well, one very large hill to be exact. Eleven Touchstone team members competed in the 3rd annual Mount Diablo Hill Climb. Touchstone Climbing was a co-sponsor of this event and our Director of Operations, Markham Connolly, built a very impressive start ramp for the event. The Touchstone Women's Elite team had a strong showing by placing 3 riders in the top 10. And finally as noted last week, Mark Melvin, founder and CEO of Touchstone Climbing, competed in the Hardrock 100 Endurance Run in Colorado. Mark finished the 100 mile run in 37 hours 56 minutes, an hour or two before nightfall the second night. He placed 44th out of 98 finishers and 134 starters.Labels: climbing, comps, cycling, ironworks, touchstone Thursday, July 5, 2007Teens to Nationals It's almost a wrap for the USA Climbing season, so Concord members Evan Cronin, Gregor Peirce, Troy Gibb, Scott Cory, Gabe Matson and Wes Miraglio (not pictured) made the trek to Portland, Oregon for Divisionals. All did well in their categories, with Scott, Gabe, Gregor and Troy climbing well enough to be invited to Nationals taking place in Ann Arbor, Michigan on July 6-8. It's great to have this group of teens representing Touchstone! We want to with them the best of luck this weekend in Michigan.Picture by Tom Cronin. Labels: climbing, comps, concord, kids, members Thursday, June 21, 2007TRS in Marin on Friday Class 5 is gearing up to host the Touchstone Roped Series Competition this Friday, June 22nd. Routes are going up Wednesday and Thursday, beer from Broken Drum and food are being ordered along with lemonade, soda and other snacks.Come out and have a great time climbing! Get a free T-shirt, have some food and have fun! These member competitions are for fun, but if you are serious and go to them all, you can win big. A note to Teen Teamers from the other gyms – Class 5 just wants to say our team is going to CRUSH! (just a friendly challenge) • Free to members • $10 for non-members • The competition runs from 6- 10pm • Raffle at the end of the evening • Food! Drink! Labels: class 5, climbing, comps Wednesday, June 6, 2007The Johnson Brothers: So Big Yet So Small Two of Sacramento Pipeworks youngest members, brothers Gary (7 years) and Grant Johnson (9 yrs), have been climbing at Pipeworks for less than two years but have just recently begun participating in local climbing comps. They may be small in stature (Gary is 50” tall and 50 lbs, Grant 53” and 65 lbs) but they haven’t let their youth and relative inexperience prevent them from killing in the competitive climbing scene. Grants’ debut competition was January 28th in Davis where he took first place. He then moved on to a competition in Fremont where he again placed first in his age group while brother Gary took fourth. The diffident duo then traveled to Reno, NV where they placed first and second respectively. From there it was back to Davis for the boys to participate in their first USA Climbing sanctioned competition, with Grant placing first and Gary taking sixth. The boy’s second USAC comp was held at Touchstone Concord and again Grant and Gary did very well, placing both second and third overall and second and fourth in the speed climbing portion of the comp. When asked about the brother’s meteoric rise on the competition scene, their father Tom said “They trained for 18 months before even considering competing. I finally found something that they LOVE – and I owe it all to this gym!” Sacramento Pipeworks is happy to be the home gym of Gary and Grant and we expect that this won’t be the last we hear from these young rock stars of the future. We wish them the best of luck at the USAC Divisional competition in Tigard, OR on June 8th. Labels: climbing, comps, kids, pipeworks Wednesday, May 23, 2007The Future of Youth Competitions It was May 2005 and Touchstone Concord was hosting the USAC Regional Competition. The gym was abuzz with 81 competitors from 11 different teams and a large crowd of spectators watching the kids vie for an invitation to Nationals. Competition climbing looked to be on track to become the next Little League, gaining in popularity and participation.Fast forward two years. Touchstone course setters have once again put up National-level routes in preparation for a strong field of junior competitors, but this year the crowds and excitement never materialized. A precipitous drop in the number of competitors, 30% fewer, begs the question: is there a future for competition rope climbing in the U.S.? The answer is a resounding yes, if Scott Jenerik, Northern California Regional coordinator of USA Climbing has anything to say about it. Scott has immersed himself in many aspects of the competition scene. He coaches a highly successful youth team out of the Touchstone gyms, sets routes for Touchstone (including setting for the regionals), and of course volunteers much of his time coordinating for the national USAC organization. Given the energy expended by individuals like Scott and the support of gyms like Touchstone who put a considerable amount of time and money into hosting competitions, chances are good that this year's low turnout is a fluke and we'll see even more kids psyched about competition climbing in the coming years. Although most of the Touchstone gyms did not send Teen Team members to this competition, kids affiliated with Touchstone gyms did incredibly well, taking first in six of the nine divisions. To see final comp results go to USA Climbing's web site. Of particular note were Concord members Gregor Peirce taking first in Male Youth B, Dakota Schwartz taking third in Female Youth C, and Scott Cory taking second in Male Youth A. Labels: climbing, comps, concord, kids Wednesday, May 16, 2007Fun Had By All
The hoards descended on Touchstone Concord for the start of TRS2 and went away tired, full and happy. Tired from climbing themselves out on the 14 comp routes ranging from 5.8 to 5.13c; full from chowing down on pizza and soda; and happy to have competed in yet another fun Touchstone community event with a group of positive and supportive climbers.
109 competitors attended, many of whom were competing for the first time. And every Touchstone gym was represented by at least a few of their members. Final scores can be found on the TRS2 comp page. A special thank you goes out to Evolv Shoes for putting on a shoe demo during the comp and for donating a pair of shoes. Also thanks to Stone Age Climbing who kindly donated a much sought-after hang board. Next stop for the TRS2 is Class 5 on June 22nd. Don't miss it! Wednesday, May 9, 2007USA Climbing Comes To Concord On Saturday, May 12, Touchstone Concord is proud to host the USA Climbing Northern California Regionals. Everyone is welcome to compete, no pre-qualification necessary. (There is an entrance fee of $35 for USA Climbing members, $40 for non-members.) Doing well at this competition may qualify Juniors to attend the Divisional Championships in Tigard, Oregon in June. The bouldering area will be closed during this event and there will be limited rope-climbing available since most of the gym will be in use for the competition. However, people are encouraged to come out as spectators to enjoy world-class climbing, a $3 lunch and an entertaining speed climbing event. Or, for anyone interested in lending a hand, volunteers are needed to run the isolation area and help in other ways. Call Touchstone Concord at 925-602-1000 to get more information and sign up! Labels: climbing, comps, concord, kids Tuesday, May 8, 2007TRS Returns this Friday!! Touchstone Concord kicks off TRS season 2 this Friday, May 11th. All Touchstone members are invited to attend this fun rope competition. As usual, there will be all new routes, free food and beverages. Folks will also have the opportunity of getting 5 minute chair massages for free or paying $10 for a 15-minute full massage from certified massage therapist, Brian Cork. There will be a raffle with lucky winners walking away with a Stone Age hang board, a pair of Evolv shoes or an Organic chalk bag. The TRS is community-building event that is a great opportunity for members to try competing in a relaxed, supportive environment. The comp will begin at 6pm with climbing wrapping up at 10pm. Labels: climbing, comps, concord Wednesday, April 18, 2007TRS Returns for Season 2!!!Here we go again!! Touchstone Climbing is excited to announce that the Touchstone Roped Series has returned. This will be a series of six Roped Climbing comps that will be held on Friday evenings, one at six of the Touchstone locations. All events will include a red point roped comp as well as refreshments, games and prizes. Points will be awarded for each comp with overall winners being announced after the final comp. The first event will be held at Touchstone Concord on May 11th. There will be a comp each month for the following six months, with the finale coming in October held at what will be the newly opened Great Western Power Company in Oakland. For more info visit the TRS page. Labels: climbing, comps, event Wednesday, March 28, 2007TBS2 Comes to an End The sixth and final competition in the Touchstone Bouldering Series 2 was held at Sacramento Pipeworks on a beautiful St. Patrick’s Day, Saturday March 17th. Over 185 competitors came from all around the bay area as well as Sacramento for the grand finale of this ever more popular series. Competition was friendly yet fierce as contestants tried to improve their standings in the overall series. Prize packages were awarded to the top five men’s and women’s finishers in each of three categories. There was plenty of pizza and refreshments after the competition, in addition to a troupe of fire dancers who wowed the crowd with their pyrotechnic prowess. Check out the series final results here or the photos in our gallery. Watch for Touchstone Roped Series 2 (TRS2) dates coming soon! Labels: climbing, comps, pipeworks Tuesday, March 13, 2007TBS2 Finale: This Saturday!! The grand finale of this year’s very popular TBS will be held in Sacramento on St. Patrick’s Day, Saturday March 17th from 10am to 4pm. The last in the series of 6 events is expected to draw well in excess of 200 people from all over the bay area as well as the Sacramento Valley. All abilities are welcome, with problems ranging from V-0 through V-11. There will be a hefty amount of prizes, t-shirts, pizza, beer and refreshments. In addition there will be a troupe of fire dancers to entertain everyone after the competition! Entry is free for Touchstone members and $10 for non-members.Labels: climbing, comps, pipeworks Monday, March 5, 2007Touchstone Memebers at ABS Nationals Touchstone Concord and Team Fuego members Gregor Peirce, Gabe Matson, Evan Cronin and Wes Mirgalio traveled to Timonium, Maryland to compete in the ABS 8 National Championships that took place February 16-18. All four boys train with Coach Yuki Uemora for Team Fuego and were excited to be heading to their first National-level competition. Scott Cory and Troy Gibb, also from Touchstone Concord, attended the event with their team, Zero Gravity. Despite this being Gregor's first on-site format competition, he took first in his division, Youth B (14-15 year olds), a truly impressive accomplishment. The rest of the Touchstone crew also did well, with Gabe and Evan taking 19th and 29th respectively in Youth A. Wes placed 23rd in the Juniors' division and Troy took 7th in Youth B. Scott Cory fought through an ankle injury sustained in the qualifying round and still managed to place 8th in Youth A. Gregor climbed perfectly in the qualifying round, flashing all four problems. He continued his streak of great climbing in the finals, flashing the first problem and getting the 2nd high point on problems number two and three. Troy reached the high point on problem number 3 and came within a hair of making it a 1-2 finish in their category. On the female side, Dakota Schwartz, competing in the Youth C category, took 14th place. This category was won by Mission Cliffs Member Cicada Jenerik. All in all, a great performance by everyone from Touchstone Concord! We look forward to following these strong, young climbers in their future adventures. You can also read more about these climbers in the Monday edition of the Contra Costa Times or online here. Labels: climbing, comps, concord, members Sunday, February 18, 2007The Desk Traverse and Much More... Bouldering history was made at the fifth round of comps for the TBS2 series held at Mission Cliffs on Friday, February 9th with over 255 participants competing in the growing series. The coursesetters set some very challenging problems including routes that were set downstairs in the main gym area. One of the many highlights of the evening ended with the Traversing Front Desk –many tried, but few sent it. Congrats to all who participated and we look forward to the grand finale wrap-up at Sacramento Pipeworks on Saturday, March 17th.For more comp results go to the comps page. You can also see pictures from the Mission Cliffs comp in our online gallery. Labels: climbing, comps, mission cliffs Friday, February 9, 2007TBS2 hits SF Come join us while we make history at the TBS2 Bouldering Series at Mission Cliffs this Friday night. All levels are welcome and encouraged to participate. This is the last comp in the bay area before the series ends at Sacramento Pipeworks on Saturday, March 17th. There will be over 60 problems that will be set in our bouldering area, in addition to problems that will be set on the main floor. Crank hard and enjoy some pizza and libations, as you grab a Free TBS2 t-shirt for turning in your score card. You also might be the lucky winner of a snowboard and other prizes. Details: Where: Mission Cliffs When: Friday, February 9th Time: Early Registrations begins at 5:00pm Comp starts at 6 -10pm Who: All Touchstone Member and Non-Members Cost: FREE to Members!! And $10 for Non-Members Labels: climbing, comps, mission cliffs Friday, January 26, 2007TBS2 at Class 5 Class 5 was the center of the bouldering universe for a Friday evening. The TBS2 stop at Class 5 on Jan. 19th saw over 160 competitors climbing problems all over the gym. The course setting was great, and competitors and spectators partaking in free massage, pizza, beer, lemonade and soda. The two (washable) tattoo machines were in constant use all night as people inked up for good luck.The winners of each division are: Advanced: Gabe Masse Matt Bingham Intermediate: Halley Tollner Brendan O’Dea Beginning: Elizabeth Howe Dan Goldberg For complete comp results go to the comps page. You can also see pictures from the Class 5 comp in our online gallery. Friday, January 12, 2007TBS 2 at Class 5 Class 5 is hosting the Touchstone Bouldering Series on Friday January 19th from 6-10 pm. Whether you are doing them all or are checking it out for the first time you should be running down to Class 5. All levels of climbers are welcome. You can see the current TBS standings here or check out pictures from some of the other TBS comps. Added bonuses: Free pizza! Free Beer, lemonade and soda! Awesome t-shirts! When: January 19th from 6pm to 10pm Where: Class 5 Climbing in San Rafael Who: All Touchstone Members & non-members What: TBS2: The best bouldering comp around Cost: FREE to members! $10 for non-members Labels: class 5, climbing, comps Monday, December 18, 2006TBS2 hits Concord Touchstone Concord keeps breaking records for attendance to their bouldering competitions. With 194 competitors at the latest TBS2, December 8th, people were literally climbing the walls. Fortunately, the problems extended into the roped areas, so there was enough room for everyone. Competitors and spectators alike had a great time as usual; pizza eating, beer and soda drinking and chocolate sampling was enjoyed by all. Recently certified massage therapist and course setter extraordinaire, Brian Cork, was even on hand to rub the soreness out of tired and tight muscles.The winner of Advanced Men at the first two TBS2 comps, Scott Chandler, had to sit this one out due to a finger injury, which made room for Simon Benkert to swoop in and take a decisive first place. Cicada Jenerick took first in women's advanced. For more comp results go to the comps page. You can also see pictures from the Concord comp in our online gallery. Thursday, December 7, 2006And there is Chocolate!! Charles Chocolate Tasting at Touchstone Concord's TBS2 In December, a new food item will be in stock at Touchstone Concord: premium chocolate bars and chocolate covered almonds from Emeryville-based chocolatier, Charles Chocolate. Available in several delectable flavors such as Mocha Java and Carmelized Rice Crispy, they shouldn't be missed. If you are a little hesitant about the sticker price of $3.75/bar, come by the free tasting taking place December 8 from 7:30pm to 9:30pm during the TBS2 comp. All the flavors will be on hand to try out. Find out which is your favorite! Wednesday, December 6, 2006TBS2 in Concord If you missed last season's Touchstone Bouldering Series competition at Concord, don't be a fool twice. This is your chance to crank on easy, intermediate and difficult boulder problems, eat some *free* pizza, drink a little *free* beer or soda and get an awesome TBS2 t-shirt.When: December 8 from 6pm to 10pm Where: Touchstone Concord Who: All Touchstone Members & non-members What: TBS2: The best bouldering comp around Cost: FREE to members! $10 for non-members Labels: climbing, comps, concord Friday, December 1, 2006TBS2 in SJ Over 125 climbers and mobs of spectators were treated to another amazing competition at Touchstone San Jose on Friday, November 17th. The gym was completely reset with brand new boulder problems compliments by vinyl beats spun by DJ Max. Members and non-members competed in another virtually perfect event put on by the South Bay outfit. The vibe was super friendly, upbeat, and very laid back. Strangers became fast friends as competitors, staff, and spectators spotted and fixed pads for each other in an extremely conscientious and supportive atmosphere. As the time ticked away, competitors were treated to dark beer and greasy pizza! Downtown onlookers were thoroughly impressed and entertained; and many returned the following day to try bouldering for the first time. Thank you San Jose for your wonderful energy and support! Congratulations to 1st place finishers: Womens Beginner: Lilly Nguyen 15060 points Womens Intermediate: Becky Trafecanty 22140 points Womens Advanced: Tiffany Hensley 30000 points Mens Beginner: Jacob Reiban 15280 points Mens Intermediate: Daniel Weeks 29060 Mens Advanced: Scott Chandler 41280 points For full results and a list of all our upcoming comp, please visit our comps page. You can see the current TBS2 standings on the results page. Also, check out the event photos in the gallery Be sure to check out the next TBS 2 Comp at Touchstone Concord on December 8th! Tuesday, November 14, 2006TBS2 in San Jose On November 17th, Touchstone San Jose will host the second competition of the Touchstone Bouldering Series - Season 2. The series of 6 bouldering competitions is held at each Touchstone facility. Participants may compete in as many comps as they like, and their top 4 scores will count towards their series standings. Free to all Touchstone members! $10 for competing non-members or for food & beer.DJ MAX will be here to spin the vinyl loud while you climb on all ALL NEW boulder problems. Door prizes and tee shirts for competitors! Come and see the spectacle at the one-of-a-kind bouldering gym in downtown San Jose! REGISTRATION LIMITED. LATE ENTRANTS MAY BE TURNED AWAY. Climbing will be limited to boulderers on Wednesday 11/15 and the gym will be closed on Thursday 11/16, in preparation for the comp. Evening Yoga classes with Alejandro will be held as scheduled. Labels: climbing, comps, san jose Thursday, October 26, 2006Crankenstein Lived!!! The Crankenstein Comp, held at Berkeley Ironworks on October 20th, kick-started the second season of the Touchstone Bouldering Series. 200 competitors came to enjoy free beer & pizza and 69 brand new bouldering problems. The competition was tight but Scott Chandler and Cicada Jenerik won the Advanced Divisions. To keep things interesting we raffled off a mountain bike and a pair of climbing shoes. Zenohe Mora won the prize for best costume, dressing up as a mime. Every competitor walked away with a smile and a TBS2 T-shirt in hand. The prize chest for the series winners is growing all the time so make sure to participate in as many competitions as you can. Labels: climbing, comps, ironworks Wednesday, October 18, 2006Crankenstein On October 20th, Ironworks will host the first competition of the Touchstone Bouldering Series - Season 2. The series of 6 bouldering competitions is held at each Touchstone facility. Participants may compete in as many comps as they like, and their top 4 scores will count towards their series standings. Or you can come just to our comp and enjoy FREE pizza & beer (or sodas). But that's not all, DJ STONE FLY will be here to mix some great tunes and help your psyche while you climb on all ALL NEW boulder problems. At the end of the night, we will be raffling off a few prizes, including a mountain bike! Sound like fun? Come and see. Labels: climbing, comps, ironworks Wednesday, September 20, 2006It is Finished The TRS finale held at Touchstone Concord on Friday, September 15th delivered all that it had promised: 14 excellent routes, free beer and pizza, lots of great prizes, exciting lead falls and a nail-biting finish in the Men's Advanced category. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners, Scott Cory (16), Simon Benkert (16) and Dustin Park (19), were separated by a mere 300 points, with Scott Cory flashing the 3 most difficult routes to take the win. Dustin Park, the homegym favorite, still handily won the Advanced Men's category for the series and heard a lot of cheers when he finished the 13c route third try.To say that the young Touchstone members had a strong showing would be a bit of an understatement. Cicada Jenerik (12) cruised the 12a and 12c to clinch the Advanced Women's title for both the comp and series. Concord member, Jacob Phillips (12), won the Intermediate Men's category by sending the 12a second try and making it to the first box of the 12c. Dakota Schwartz (12), also a Concord member, had a great night and took first in the Women's Intermediate category. It's a miracle that anyone over 20 had a chance, but Berkeley Ironworks members, Mike King and Ngoc Nguyen who placed first in the Beginning Men's and Women's categories respectively, showed us that climbing isn't just for the kids. All in all, it was a fun night and not only for the comp winners - everyone had a great time. Labels: climbing, comps, concord Thursday, September 14, 2006TRS Finale The last installment of the Touchstone Rope Series is taking place at Touchstone Concord on September 15th from 6-10pm. Touchstone member comps are open to climbers of ALL levels and are a great way to build up our local climbing community. With lots of pizza, beer and prizes as well as excellent routes, it is impossible NOT to have a great time.To add to the excitement, Touchstone Concord staff member, Dustin Park (shown above cranking at the BIW comp) is heading up the Advanced Men's category and could win the whole series at this comp. Even if you aren't planning to climb yourself, come out and cheer Dustin to a win! Labels: climbing, comps, concord Friday, September 1, 2006The TBS Returns!!! After Touchstone Climbing's most successful competition series ever, we are excited to announce season 2 of the Touchstone Bouldering Series, TBS2. Six bouldering competitions will be held on Friday evenings once a month at each of our locations. All events will include a red point bouldering comp as well as refreshments and, as you may well know, other fun activities. Points will be awarded for each competition with the announcement of the overall winners at the grand finale. This year, the first event will be held at Berkeley Ironworks in October and end with the grand finale at Sacramento Pipeworks in April. For more information and to see the complete schedule please visit the TBS2 homepage. We look forward to seeing you at another great Touchstone event. Thursday, August 31, 2006TRS at Ironworks A hundred competitors came to climb at the Touchstone Roped Series competition at Berkeley Ironworks on August 25th. A good time was had by all. Local microbrewery Bison Brewing provided us with tasty organic beer and the gym bought pizza for all the competitors. Climbing vendors such as Mountain Hardware, Black Diamond, Five Ten, La Sportiva (and many more) donated tons of prizes. In fact, everybody who turned in a scorecard got a prize!Dustin Park won the Men's advanced category by flashing a 5.12c, getting to the second box of the 5.13a on his first try, and doing the 5.13c second try. Cicada Jenerik won the Women's advanced category by flashing the 5.13c, 5.12c and getting to the second box of the 5.13a on her second try! She showed the boys a thing or two about climbing and garnered enough points to tie with the Men's advanced winner Dustin Park. Labels: climbing, comps, ironworks Tuesday, August 15, 2006San Jose Staff Sendfest Touchstone San Jose staff, Michael Abell, traveled to Salt Lake City to compete at The Front gym in the annual Sendfest bouldering competition, August 11th. Mike qualified, cruising in at 34th place of 50 select bouldering hardmen; and brought home the silver at 2nd place with 17960 points in the Citizens Comp Men's Open category. Great job Mike, way to climb with your soul!Labels: climbing, comps, san jose Wednesday, August 9, 20061st Street Bouldering Competition Boulderers and spectators were treated, once again, to another spectacular competition at Touchstone's bouldering-only gym, Touchstone San Jose. 88 competitors touched down on forty new problems, live music by DJ Max, pizza and beer, prizes and a raffle, in a crowded, but very friendly atmosphere. Boasting the highest bouldering walls of all the Touchstone gyms, the comp problems were expectedly challenging and fun.Thanks go out to the setting crew: Craig McClenahan (Touchstone Head Route Setter), Al Liu (San Jose Manager), Art Balaoro and Michaell Abell (San Jose Staff). And thanks go out to the rest of the San Jose Staff, and all the boulderers who showed up knowing they were in for another gem of a competition in downtown San Jose. Congrats to 1st place winners: Mens Open: Kevin Boehm Mens Advanced: Jessie Palomino Womens Advanced: Becky Trafecanty Mens Intermediate: Kevin Woldhagen Womens Intermediate: Denise Castromayor Mens Beginner: Jon Montoya Womens Beginner: Alexis Greensberg Labels: climbing, comps, san jose Thursday, July 27, 2006TRS at Class 5 For those of you who made it to the Class 5 rope comp, you know it was a great comp. There was a nail biting ending on the 13c, two ties, LOTS of pizza and beer, plenty of cheering and obscene amounts of booty. We had climbers of all levels, from people climbing for their first time to seasoned veterans encouraging their friends, giving beta and belays.All the 60+ competitors got called up to the raffle table at least once, and while not everyone got the rope, everyone got something to go home with. Some even caught flying chalk or beer cozies! Competition scores are listed on the competitions page. Go look how well you did and plan for the Berkeley Ironworks TRS Competition in August. Labels: class 5, climbing, comps Monday, July 17, 20061st St. Bouldering Comp Touchstone San Jose is holding another one of their extremely popular member bouldering competitions on August 4th. "The 1st Street Bouldering Competition," designed to bring a fun and competitive twist to a usually mellow bouldering scene in the South Bay, will provide food, beer, and a raffle to all competitors. In addition to quality new problems from all your favorite Touchstone setters, the competition includes live music from the TSJ regular, DJ Max. Competition begins at 7 p.m. and will finish around 10:30 p.m. Categories include: Beginner (V0-V2); Intermediate (V2-V4); Advanced (V4-V6); and Open (V6+). The competition is free for any Touchstone member, and is $10 for any non-member.Labels: climbing, comps, san jose Monday, July 10, 2006TRS - Class 5 Friday July 14thClass 5 6 – 10pm Free to Members Come to the next phase of the Touchstone Roped Series! Class 5 will be hosting the third of the five comp series this Friday, with great food, drink, prizes and amazing climbing. There are different levels of competition so if you started climbing a month ago, you wont be competing against, say, Ben “The Flea” Polanco. Come have fun with your friends, climb and win prizes. (Prizes are based on best scores AND a raffle). We are expecting a large turn out so get here early to make sure you get all the climbing time you want! The comp is a self scoring, bring your own belayer comp. Your score will be the total of your three best completed routes. There will be two intermediate holds that will be scored on each route. Your highest score per route will be used to calculate your final score. Labels: class 5, climbing, comps Thursday, June 22, 2006Youth Sport Climbing Divisional Championships Nearly 200 competitors from California, the Pacific Northwest, Montana and some from as far away as Alaska gathered in Sacramento over two days, June 10th and 11th for the Youth Sport Climbing Divisional Championships. The top finishers moved on to compete in the National Championship to be held next month in Tigard Oregon. Competition was fierce on the first day as 200 climbers were slowly pared down to the strongest 100. The end of the second day featured a thrilling head to head tie breaking super-final route between Scott Cory and Simon Benkert. Cory, who climbed first, came off the 5.13A route only three holds from the finish. Benkert, climbing second, managed to flash the difficult route to cheers from the very large crowd. Check our online gallery for more photos from this contest.Labels: climbing, comps, event, kids, pipeworks Monday, June 19, 2006TRS - Pipeworks Over 60 competitors showed up in Sacramento on Friday June 9th for the second of our roped climbing competition series. Touchstone members from as far away as San Francisco braved the heavy traffic and 3+ hour driving time to compete in this low-key event. Many competitors remarked that the routes were exceptionally good, and everyone enjoyed the pizza, beer and soda that were served afterward. The prize table was especially heavy and everyone went home with a prize in hand. You can see the complete results here. Check our photo gallery for more photos from this contest. The next installment of the Touchstone Roped Series will be at Class 5 on Friday July 14th.Labels: climbing, comps, pipeworks Monday, May 8, 2006TRS Dates Announced We are excited to announce the dates to the remaining four upcoming Touchstone Roped Series Comps.
The Touchstone Roped Series is a set of five Roped Climbing comps that will be held on Friday evenings. All events will include a red point roped comp as well as refreshments, games and prizes. Points will be awarded for each comp with overall winners being announced after the final comp. We are excited to continue our long tradition of supporting roped climbing competitions. For more information check out the Touchstone Roped Series Page. Sunday, April 30, 2006Touchstone Roped Series Begins Following the success of the Touchstone Bouldering Series, Touchstone launched a potential Roped Series for their members at Mission Cliffs on April 28th, where the participation would determine a continuation of a Touchstone Rope Series for their other four gyms. An impressive large number of members turned out for this event with over 150 competitors that signed-up and just over 100 turning in their scorecards. The event consisted of three categories –beginner, intermediate and advanced. This was the first time that Touchstone hosted a member roped climbing event for their members. “It was fantastic to see members from so many of our other gyms participate in this event”, recalls Donna Dunlap, Mission Cliffs manager. One of the many highlights of the night was when Mission Cliffs’ member, Simon Benkert, 15, flashed the hardest route in the comp, a 5.13c on lead. The phenom pulled a no-hands knee bar rest after clipping the third draw. The crowd went wild. For complete results, check out the comps page. With the amazing success of this event, we are proud to announce the inaugural TRS (Touchstone Roped Series). Stay tuned for upcoming TRS dates. Labels: climbing, comps, touchstone Monday, April 10, 2006New Roped Climbing Comp at Mission Cliffs Following the success of the Touchstone Bouldering Series, we’re proud to introduce a Roped Climbing Comp on April 28th from 6 to 10 p.m. at Mission Cliffs. Potentially this could be the first of a five-part roped climbing series. This will be a redpoint format, where each competitor will have multiple tries on any route they choose. The top three scores will be totaled for the final score. There will be three categories for both male and female climbers. Beginner 5.8-5.10d (Top Rope), Intermediate 5.11a-5.11d (Top Rope), Advance 5.12a+ (Lead). This event is free to members and $10 for non-members. There will be free pizza and beer following the comp.Labels: climbing, comps, mission cliffs Monday, March 20, 2006Touchstone's Bouldering Series Draws 440 Climbers Touchstone Climbing wrapped up its 2005-2006 Bouldering Series on March 17 with more than 440 climbers turning in a scorecard for at least one event. More than 220 showed up for the finals at Touchstone's Berkeley Ironworks location. That made it the most popular series of member comps in Touchstone's history, and that's saying something.This particular series involved one competition a month at all six Touchstone gyms in Northern California, starting out at the bouldering only gym in San Jose. Winners in each category received a bouldering trip to Bishop, CA -- including a $100 gas card, a $150 hotel gift card and a Bishop Bouldering Guide to send them on their way. The gift pack wasn't just for the most advanced climbers. Winners in every category got them. Andrew Cullen topped a field of 112 men in the Beginner category (V0-V2 for men, V0-V1 for women) with 69,450 points after five comps, while Christie Ashby led 69 women climbers with 44,160 points after her best four out of six comps. Topping the Intermediate level (V3-V5 for men, V2-V4 for women) Greg Peirce scored 107,800 in six comps, with 151 men vying. Mary Kate Meyerhoffer scored 72,122 in four events, and placed first in the field of 32 women. Charlotte Perry-Houts won in the Advanced competition (V6+ for the 61 men, V5+ for the 15 women.) with 78,860 after four events. She was only 400 points ahead of second-place climber Marea Palmer-Loh. Chris Bloch climbed his way to 135,960 points after four events for the men. For those who missed out on the series, not to worry. It all starts up again this coming fall. Labels: climbing, comps, touchstone | ||