Dean Fleming was born and raised in Sonora, CA, the gateway to Yosemite Valley. Once the youngest certified professional climbing guide in the country, he eventually combined his love of writing, photography, earth science, and rock climbing into a career of sharing his stoke and expertise through publishing. Dean is the author of the Columbia […]
Former Bay Area resident and Touchstone employee Chris Bloch is organizing this year’s 8th annual Tahoe Bouldering Competition on Saturday September 21, 2019! It’s got great sponsors, vendor booths, $8,000-worth of amazing prizes, and a $2,000 cash purse, so don’t miss out on the fun! “This competition is for all ages and abilities and will […]
By Bay Area Wilderness Training. Throughout the month of September, Bay Area Wilderness Training (BAWT), a local non-profit, located just a couple miles away from Great Western Power Company in the heart of Oakland, will be partnering with Bay Area Touchstone gyms to collect donations of used outdoor gear. On Saturday October 5th, BAWT […]
Dean Fleming was born and raised in Sonora, CA, the gateway to Yosemite Valley. Once the youngest certified professional climbing guide in the country, he eventually combined his love of writing, photography, earth science, and rock climbing into a career of sharing his stoke and expertise through publishing. Dean is the author of the […]
By Jessica Wan. Header photo by Saki Cake. This past June, Touchstone celebrated Pride all month long and Berkeley Ironworks partnered with the OLAS Sanctuary Project, to whom we donated all of our Pride proceeds; we also hosted their group earlier in June for a fun day of climbing (not to mention their first event […]
By Zach Wright, Director + Head Coach of Team Touchstone. Header photo by Jason Chang. Team Touchstone just returned from Philadelphia, where 7 of our team climbers competed at the USA Climbing Sport & Speed National Championships. It was a wonderful experience full of fun and challenges, and we want to give you a rundown […]
Header photo by Saki Cake. Wow. Woman Up 2019 concluded last Sunday, and we are still amazed. Even after having two years of the Woman Up Climbing Festival under our belts, nothing could have prepared us for how incredible the third year would be. We returned to Dogpatch Boulders for THREE days of celebrating women […]
Part of our mission for the Woman Up Climbing Festival is to encourage womxn to share their stories and experiences across the climbing industry. The Woman Up panel closes out the entire event, creating space to carry the conversations started at the festival into the world at large. This year’s panel theme is Breaking Boundaries, […]
Of the many things that make the Woman Up Climbing Festival so special, our all-female routesetting crew may be our favorite. With a handful of return setters from previous Woman Up events and a batch of new Touchstone setters, we’re certain these ladies are going to set some absolute classics for the comp on July […]
By KJ de Jesus. “I think it’s important for us as a society to remember that the youth within juvenile justice systems are, most of the time, youths who simply haven’t had the right mentors and supporters around them—because of circumstances beyond their control.” –Q’orianka Kilcher We all climb for different reasons—some folks enjoy […]
