By Jessica Wan. Header photo by Saki Cake. This past June, Touchstone celebrated Pride all month long and Berkeley Ironworks partnered with the OLAS Sanctuary Project, to whom we donated all of our Pride proceeds; we also hosted their group earlier in June for a fun day of climbing (not to mention their first event […]
By Zach Wright, Director + Head Coach of Team Touchstone. Header photo by Jason Chang. Team Touchstone just returned from Philadelphia, where 7 of our team climbers competed at the USA Climbing Sport & Speed National Championships. It was a wonderful experience full of fun and challenges, and we want to give you a rundown […]
Header photo by Saki Cake. Wow. Woman Up 2019 concluded last Sunday, and we are still amazed. Even after having two years of the Woman Up Climbing Festival under our belts, nothing could have prepared us for how incredible the third year would be. We returned to Dogpatch Boulders for THREE days of celebrating women […]
Part of our mission for the Woman Up Climbing Festival is to encourage womxn to share their stories and experiences across the climbing industry. The Woman Up panel closes out the entire event, creating space to carry the conversations started at the festival into the world at large. This year’s panel theme is Breaking Boundaries, […]
This year’s Woman Up title sponsor and our friends Mountain Hardwear recently published an article about pro climber Alex Johnson taking the crown at the 2018 Woman Up Climbing Festival at Cliffs of Id in Culver City, CA. Woman Up is a singular event in climbing where we invite women and underrepresented genders to join […]
Of the many things that make the Woman Up Climbing Festival so special, our all-female routesetting crew may be our favorite. With a handful of return setters from previous Woman Up events and a batch of new Touchstone setters, we’re certain these ladies are going to set some absolute classics for the comp on July […]
By KJ de Jesus. “I think it’s important for us as a society to remember that the youth within juvenile justice systems are, most of the time, youths who simply haven’t had the right mentors and supporters around them—because of circumstances beyond their control.” –Q’orianka Kilcher We all climb for different reasons—some folks enjoy […]
Life Academy of Health and Bioscience is a small public high school in Oakland that prepares students in grades 6 through 12 to become our future health professionals. Life Academy has been coming to our San Francisco and East Bay gyms for several years, and it’s always an honor to be a part of […]
Dean Fleming was born and raised in Sonora, CA, the gateway to Yosemite Valley. Once the youngest certified professional climbing guide in the country, he eventually combined his love of writing, photography, earth science, and rock climbing into a career of sharing his stoke and expertise through publishing. Dean is the author of the Columbia Bouldering […]
Pride Month is one of our favorite times of year here at Touchstone, and we’re doing it up bigger than ever in 2019 across all our gyms. From after hours parties to Pride parades to special, limited edition swag supporting California LGBTQ+ organizations, we’re proud to celebrate our queer fam and honor the memory of […]
