Blog
Cliffs of Id Open House and Vendor Fair
The Cliffs of Id, Southern California’s newest climbing gym, is set to open in late 2015. But the climbing community isn’t wasting any time! We’re hosting a 2nd Open House on Monday, June 8th from 6pm-9pm to answer questions, give curious climbers a tour of the completed bouldering area, hand out shwag and more! Because suuuuure, you know the…
Climbing Summer Camp in Oakland
Summer is just around the corner, and what better way to spend it than learning to rock climb with your friends?! We sat down with Great Western Power Company’s Kids Camp Directors Carole Ryu and Jaclyn Clark to get the details on their plans for rock climbing summer camp in Oakland. “Summer vacations are such a memorable…
Learning to Climb with our Tracks Program
Touchstone has always been a home base for experienced climbers to improve their skills, as well as a place soon-to-be climbers learn the ropes for the first time. We’re happy to announce that this year we’re rolling out a new clinic tracks program to help people improve, advance, and work towards specific goals. Staffer Ryan Moon…
Pringle on Jumbo Love
May 17th, 2015- Ethan Pringle flew ninety feet past North America’s hardest route Jumbo Love (5.15b). After completing the second ascent of the Chris Sharma test piece, Pringle took an enormous victory jump at the Third Tier at Clark Mountain, California. The nearly 29 year old Pringle began working the route in 2007 with Chris…
Next Stop for Team Touchstone: Divisional Championships!
By now, you’ve surely seen the members of California’s newest competitive youth climbing team doing their thing at our various gyms. If you’ve stopped to ask “Who are these kids?” or “How are they running laps on my project?”, ponder no longer. The young climbers you see tearing up the walls in our gyms are members…
Joey Kinder in Norway and the Ballenstein Festivallen
Recently, Touchstone athlete Joey Kinder headed to Norway for a three week trip. This is his second time to the country. He traveled there last year to climb at the notoriously difficult Flatanger Cave. He spoke a bit with the Touchstone blog about his trip. Why did you want to go there? My buddy Henning…
TCS2015 at Great Western Power Co
Last Friday the 2015 Touchstone Climbing Series at Great Western Power Company brought over 375 climbers and spectators to the gym, making it the largest turn out for a competition in Oakland to date! “Another year another record!” said GWPC manager Jeremy Yee. “We had a terrific turn out, and even though it as an…
A Free El Capitan in A Day with James Lucas
Touchstone employee James Lucas recently free climbed Yosemite’s El Capitan in a day. The Touchstone Blog reports on his ascent. At 6:10pm on May 6, James Lucas dry-heaved into some bushes on the top of El Capitan. He had just finished climbing his first route on the iconic monolith, and he had done it in…
Members of the Month: Skimra and Alex
As everybody knows, there is a variety of ways to meet new people. In environments as socially diverse as Sacramento Pipeworks, many intriguing individuals surround us daily. Conversations start and new friends are made, but sometimes, you may even meet the person of your dreams…when you least expect it. In writing these featured monthly member…
El Capitan: Slow and Heavy or Fast and Light
The longer days of spring have arrived. The last few storms are rolling through the Valley and El Capitan is coming into prime shape for climbing. Making an ascent of one of the world’s biggest granite monoliths requires a fair bit of motivation. There are two main ways to climb El Capitan: slow and heavy…
Team Touchstone “Old Guy”- Nick Bradley Profile
Every year the kids climbing in the gym mutate a bit more. Since the introduction of the Team Touchstone youth climbing team, the kids seem to be even stronger than normal. “This is my 10th year climbing, which is kind of scary to think about because I used to think that all the guys that…
Free Outdoor Education and Stewardship Class
Protecting and preserving our outdoor climbing areas is a no-brainer. It has to be done and the responsibility rests on the shoulders of the climbing community. It sounds like a heavy load but if we all work together and follow some simple and basic guidelines for limiting our impact when outdoors it’s easy! As a climbing…