They’re up with the sun, chain coffee-drinking and working hard to bring you the routes you love to send, project, and crush. ‘Touchstone Routesetting’ is an industry term for excellence, and each member of the crew brings a little somethin’ somethin’ to the team. In our ongoing segment, Better Know a Setter, we bring you a closer look at what makes ’em tick. In this weeks installment, we sat down with a Touchstone institution, Eric ‘McLuvin’ Sanchez.
How long have you been route setting?
I think in total I have been setting for 6 years, 3 of which is setting for Touchstone.
How did you get into route setting?
I set for 3 years at my home gym, the late Sunrise Rock Gym in Livermore before I started started setting for Touchstone. I grew up doing the youth competitive competitions and from there it was only natural for me to try to set myself something fun to climb in Livermore. Once I graduated high school I started working full time for Touchstone and it grew into something that I always want to do.
What is your favorite gym to set at and why?My favorite gym has to be the LA.B for bouldering, because they have the best hold selection and the walls are great. For ropes it has to be the Mission Cliffs expansion. The angle of the main wall is perfect for a fun gymnastic climb.
What are you route setting pet peeves?
If you ask anyone on the crew the would probably say my biggest pet peeve is bad tape angles, which I hate, but I think someone setting the same sequences constantly is something that bothers me a little bit more.
What is in your route setting bag right now?
Crap… I don’t even know where it is…
What inspires your routes?
Competitions, videos of other gyms setting, and learning from what the more experienced setters do inspires my routes. I tend to like the climbs that break from the ladder mold and have a good aesthetic quality.
What is your favorite memory setting with the Touchstone Crew?
It has to be setting Divisionals at Mission Cliffs with Jonathan, Jeremy, and two PG setters. I learned more about route setting in that one week than all my other setting experiences combined. It was really great to see 9 year old girls crushing my finals route, which I think I fell on.
Where is your favorite place to climb outside?
Mortar. Definitely Mortar. Mortar Rock is one of the best climbing areas I have ever been to, anyone who says differently is a hater. Yosemite is pretty good too, if your into that type of thing.
What is your advice for aspiring setters?
Just go to as many gyms as possible and look at what the setters are doing at each one, there is no better way to learn how to set.
How many McNuggets do you eat everyday?
Roughly 40.
How many cups of coffee?
At least one pot to leave the house, two when I get to work, and two more at lunch. And then usually one or two more to make sure I’m awake for the drive home.
Dreams of White Porsches – 5.13b – Eric Sanchez from Alton Richardson on Vimeo.
