Routesetting

There was a time when all rock climbing was on rock; but Justin was part of the first generation that was introduced to climbing indoors, at Emeryville’s CityRock at friend’s birthday party in the early 1990s. While in and out of college, Justin took up routesetting to support his growing…

Sean hails from New Jersey and was first introduced to climbing at boarding school in New Hamsphire. It was the first sport that actually made sense to him. When he turned 20, Sean made the move from New Jersey to Oakland and at first worked as a massage therapist. His…

Hiro is originally from New Jersey but has moved all over the country until ending up in the bay area in 2015 which is when he started routesetting for Touchstone. His favorite thing about setting is having a creative outlet to produce something that other people can interact with. He…

There is so much I can say about route setting and my relationship to it. To keep it short, route setting is a job that I am deeply passionate about and have been doing since 2007. Sometimes my climbs are personal, an expression of who I am and how I…

Cole has been working for Touchstone since 2012 as a routesetter at MetalMark. He began as a trad climber, then moved on to sport, and now focuses on bouldering. When he’s not setting five-star routes and asking for more holds, he’s searching for the softest boulders in the country, knee…

Isamer grew up in the Crown City a.k.a. Pasadena, CA. He started climbing at the local gym in 2008. His best friends, Dylin Cordova and Tobin Ziel, introduced him to routesetting shortly after. He continued bolting holds throughout college and 4 years after graduating before joining the Touchstone family. He…

Innovator of the fast rollout on cp_badlands, Chaz Dela Cruz was a professional demoman and scout player for Team Fortress 2 North American team Blight. After collecting many accolades in his esport career, he swapped out his gaming chair for a metolius big wall harness. A master of stone on…

Climbing has this amazing ability to really make you think. It’s this unique activity that can help you embrace challenges, learn from them, and become stronger both mentally and physically. I tend to want to create climbs that are accessible, inclusive and offer a wide range of movement. Sometimes I…

Claire is just a regular human girl. She likes climbing, swimming and laying in the sun. Regular human things, definitely not bear things. She also loves honey, karaoke and collecting teeth.

Outdoor and mountain enthusiast since I was a kid. I randomly jumped into a climbing clinic when I was 20, and it was love at first sight! At some point in my climbing journey, I translated my passion into a job as a routesetter. Now at the threshold of more…