By Jason Bove. These days, it is rare to find a combination of both sweet and tough in a fellow human being. Jon is an earth-focused, spiritual individual that directs his energy toward being true to himself and the world with which he interacts. A student of Iroquois philosophy in a time when we struggle […]
At Touchstone Climbing we believe that climbing is for EVERYONE. We’re stoked to offer an adaptive program at Berkeley Ironworks in collaboration with Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program. If you know anyone with an impairment who has always wanted to try climbing but wasn’t sure if they could, send them our way! If you’re […]
By Zach Wright, Director and Head Coach of Team Touchstone Stepping out of the airport in Atlanta, the heat and humidity hits you like a punch in the face. As you walk outside, there’s a grace period of approximately 0.7 seconds during which you think, “Oh, it’s not that bad,” before you realize that yes, […]
Touchstone Climbing is excited to announce a proposed bouldering gym in the Oaks Theater building on Solano Avenue in North Berkeley, just down the hill from Indian and Mortar Rock. We love our East Bay community, and think that this could be an incredible opportunity to support both the growing population of climbers and […]
By Matt Ulery. “We should get a van.” It was half-statement, half-question to my wife after another uncomfortable night of sleeping in a tent. I truly didn’t expect her to say yes…but then: “Yeah, I could be into that.” Fast forward six months of researching different van options, weighing pros and cons, and then getting […]
By Jason Bove. True story: A job is far more enjoyable if you like to spend time with your coworkers. I have been lucky enough to say that I have and still do. Not too many careers give you the opportunity to spend days, weeks, months, and even years with good friends talking about something […]
Climbing has a long tradition of mentorship. Many climbers can trace back their first time climbing back to a friend who showed them the ropes (figuratively and literally). We know how powerful that kind of relationship can be, so we really get Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the oldest and largest mentoring program in the […]
At Dogpatch Boulders, we’re lucky to have groups like Gilman Rec Connect visit us regularly. Gilman Rec Connect is an important resource for local kids that collaborates with other established youth organizations to build on school-day learning with educational after-school projects and activities. This summer program is free to kids in the community and serves some of the […]
By Samantha Feinerman. I love yoga. I love yoga a lot. In fact, I love yoga so much that I started teaching it seven years ago and decided to teach it, forever. Yoga just kind of fell into my lap when I was in high school—and by “fell,” I mean my aunt dragged me into […]
Catching falls is a tough job. Even though our workhorse gym ropes are great at what they do, eventually they all need replacing. But what to do with all of the retired ropes? They’re no longer safe to climb on, but must ropes go straight from gym to landfill? Couldn’t they find a second life […]
