Two days ago, Touchstone Athlete Ethan Pringle made the first free ascent of Blackbeard’s Tears, a 5.14c crack on the Northern California Coast that is as gorgeous as it is difficult. Previously only climbed using a mixture of trad climbing and aid gear, Ethan’s send makes Blackbeard’s Tears the second 5.14c traditionally-protected crack in the world, […]
California’s Highway 108 winds steadily through the Stanislaus National Forest until it ascends steeply to the 9,623-foot summit of Sonora Pass. Just below the steepest part, charming log cabins sit at the edge of a surreal sub-alpine meadow that makes up the small town of Dardanelle. Here, the banks of the Middle Fork Stanislaus River […]
By Mailee Hung. I find myself continually fascinated by how many cool people I meet through climbing. I’ve met surgeons, artists, accountants, rope access workers, welders, baristas, and, yes, of course, fun-employed dirtbags. It’s amazing to me that, despite the wide variety of backgrounds and range of experiences climbers come from, they always feel like […]
It’s that time again! The Touchstone Competition Series, aka #TCS2016, comes to Great Western Power Co in Oakland this Friday! TCS has visited a Touchstone gym every month this year, and this week’s TCS2016 at GWPC will be a bouldering comp and climbers of all levels and all ages are welcome to come out and […]
We are happy to introduce our newest Commander in Chief of LA Boulders, Ms. Hooooollllyyyy ROCK! Holly is a familiar face around Great Western Power Company in Oakland, and she has recently made the move down to Los Angeles to manage our original Southern California bouldering gym! We caught up with Holly to find out what […]
Want to get on real rock next weekend but can’t shake the competition climbing bug? Good news: You CAN have it all! Former Bay Area residents and Touchstone employees Jen and Chris Bloch are heading up this year’s Tahoe Bouldering Competition on Saturday! The comp formerly known as The Meyers Climbing Festival is now bigger […]
On Saturday, Cliffs of Id will host the finale of the Sothern California Touchstone Climbing Series. TCS2016 is our very own, homegrown comp series that tours every single Touchstone Climbing Gym. Saturday marks the end of the bouldering SoCal section, and is not to be missed! And if that wasn’t enough for you, we’ll be […]
Perhaps while watching the Olympic games in Rio, it dawned on you that those incredible gymnasts could be pretty decent climbers… Or maybe your own background in gymnastics has made YOU a better climber! We sat down with Sacramento Pipeworks member and UC Davis coach Ron Manara to learn about the parallels between climbing and […]
The wait is almost over – and we’re SO excited to be days away from introducing amazing rope climbing to Los Angeles! If you’re a route climber in the area and can’t wait to rope up, here are some things to know. Tell us about belay devices! Dealer’s choice! You can use ATC’s, Gri-Gri’s, cinches… pretty […]
Hans Florine has been a familiar face in the Touchstone Community for years; first as a climber, then a consultant for our indoor crack systems, and finally as the manager of Diablo Rock Gym in Concord, Ca. Hans also has a few other accolades up his sleeve… He holds numerous speed climbing records around the world and […]
