Photos by Paulina Dao. Our favorite climbing places in the world are getting loved to death, and we have to be their active stewards if we want to continue climbing in them. Touchstone is passionate about outdoor access and stewardship, which is why we regularly host Gym to Crag events to talk about best practices […]
By Miles Fullman. All photos by Miles Fullman and Eli Spitulnic. I first started climbing with Touchstone during a summer camp in 2010 at Diablo Rock Gym. Loving everything about the sport, I checked out the teen climbing teams at Diablo, Berkeley Ironworks, and Great Western Power Co. I decided to join Ryan Moon’s team […]
By Ting Chin. No seriously, we totally do! And not just with Jordan’s random, prolonged hugs to strangers and Dan’s sporadic calls of encouragement to struggling climbers from the desk. Not just with treating our employees and members with respect and compassion and rising to the daily toil of folding many dozens of towels in […]
By Jason Bove. It’s a normal weekday at the gym. You look over toward the fish tank to see what’s going on “under the sea.” Instead, what draws your attention is the older gentleman, pen in hand, sipping his Java Monster. Stationed at his usual spot, Joe diligently writes and draws page after page of […]
By Kai Zinn. Nepal is an amazing place to visit, whether one goes just to see the country or to climb and trek in the Himalaya. Due to media coverage, many people have been under the impression that much of the country was destroyed by the 2015 earthquake, and tourism has dropped precipitously as […]
If you’ve been to Dogpatch Boulders in the past year or so, you’ve no doubt noticed that there’s been some construction going on. While we know it’s been a bit of a hassle, we appreciate everyone’s patience and can assure you that it will all be worth it! We have all sorts of amazing improvements […]
We are well past the holiday hangovers and into our #NewYearNewYou resolutions, but we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the incredible things that happened in the Touchstone community in 2017. We use the word “community” a lot because it fully encompasses the things we care about most—the people and places that are […]
By Eric Nakano. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting up at Castle Rock State Park with a group of young climbers from the Recreational Team at Dogpatch Boulders. This was the first time any of the climbers or parents had been on an outdoor bouldering outing, and I believe everyone in […]
Cliffs of Id was proud to host the LAPD cadets of the Wilshire Division through the Medicines Global Outdoor Youth Ambassador program. Outdoor stewardship is as near and dear to us as rock climbing—the two are inextricable. So playing a role in both introducing new climbers to the sport and teaching them ways to take care […]
Mustard Seed is a free, private school for children 3-15 years old experiencing homelessness. Mustard Seed provides a safe, nurturing, and structured environment for its students, as well as essential care and assistance entering or reentering public schools. We have been partnering with Mustard Seed at Sacramento Pipeworks for a long time now, and it […]
