Recently, GWPC manager Jeremy Yee headed to one of the world’s best bouldering destinations with a crew of Touchstone members and employees. Located on the East side of the Sierra, Bishop hosts an amazing collection of granite and volcanic bouldering. Photo by Darrel Cheung Yee’s first trip to the bouldering mecca occurred almost exactly two […]
Every climber has a Project; a route or boulder problem that exposes your weaknesses and shuts you down. For Diane Ortega, the manager of The Studio in San Jose, that project is the Buttermilk Stem in Bishop, California. The problem is graced with slopey holds, requires tons of flexibility, and has sharp rock that bites […]
Nothing in climbing is more important than belaying. Belayer’s hold their partner’s life. While many people are cavalier about belaying, it’s an essential to pay attention and belay properly. They are significant differences in belaying a sport route, a long traditional climb, or an aid climb. The single most important tenet of belaying is to […]
The Salathe Headwall on El Capitan, the North Six Shorter in Indian Creek, and Dog Leg in Joshua Tree are all beautiful routes. These obvious cracks are some of the most enticing lines in climbing. Crack climbing is beautiful but it also hurts. Anyone who has stuffed their hand into a parallel splitter has […]
The short days of fall are here and many climbers are still chomping at the bit to climb big Yosemite routes Whether maximizing the number of pitches at the crag or moving quickly over a long trad route, the key to fast climbing is efficency. Diablo Rock Gym manager and author of Climb On! Skills […]
If you’ve been to Mission Cliffs recently and admired the photographs adorning the walls, you’ll be happy to know that they are the handy work of our very own member Tim Guffin! His work is also on the cover of Rock&Ive magazine! We caught up with Tim to find out a bit more about his […]
My body slide down 3 inches. I pushed it back up 3 inches. Then I slid again. I ate too many pies that summer and the infamous squeezing of the Harding Slot on Yosemite’s Astroman made it difficult to make upward progress. Yosemite guidebook author Chris Macnmara describes Astroman saying, “Astroman is one of the […]
On October 20 and 21th from 10 am until 4 pm, a group of local climbers will be organizing a raffle, free food and a chance to clean up the famous Indian Rock area. The climbing there is well known to Bay area boulderers. It’s been well documented as the place where Berkeley climbers developed […]
Recently, Touchstone route setter Jeff Hansen headed to Arkansas for the infamous 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell. He wrote a bit about his trip for the Touchstone blog. The last weekend of September, I traveled to the sandstone cliffs of Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas to participate in 24 Hours of […]
In late September, long time BIW member Deborah Georges completed the Ebbet’s Pass Century. The 100 mile bike ride takes some of the best roads in the Sierra Nevada. Georges wrote about her bike ride for the Touchstone blog. I spent an exhilarating day last Saturday taking on the challenge of the Ebbetts Pass Century! […]
