The Staff

Diane began with Touchstone in the summer of 2005 at Sacramento Pipeworks—she spent six years working at the desk there and will always consider it her “home” gym. From Pipeworks she made the move to... the South Bay to manage The Studio in the beginning of 2012. After seven years of good times, she made yet another move in 2019 to Dogpatch Boulders. As much as she loves her gym, work is not everything to her: Diane also enjoys traveling, tennis, lifting, and all things food- and drink-related. If you ever want to swap recipes or fight over which style of BBQ is best, be sure to come to chat her up!

Ryan joined Touchstone in 2007 to feed his climbing addiction. He holds an AA in theology and a BS in geology, but one day hopes to become a stone master. When he isn’t climbing the... glorious walls inside a Touchstone gym, you can find him mountaineering, dancing ballet, completing triathlons, or training for more climbing.

A So Cal native that moved to Davis in 2018 for school Kinsey joined Pipeworks in 2021 after graduating with a degree in biochemistry. After some exposure through the venture scouts he started climbing in... the gym in 2016 and soon got hooked on rock climbing at places like Joshua Tree. When not at the front desk, coaching, or teaching clinics you can find him climbing at one of Tahoe’s excellent crags or some seldom visited spot in California he read about online.

Andrew is an aggressively non-competitive climber, plays disc golf, and tries to do yoga as regularly as possible. You’ll see him at the front desk and walking around the gym, sometimes followed closely by his... adorable black lab mix, Lavender.

In the summer of ’17, Courtney drove to California in a small car packed with art supplies, plants, and a cat. Upon arriving, they wandered into Pipeworks and said, “Y’all hiring? I work in climbing... gyms.” The rest is now buried in the great book of Touchstone lore. Courtney enjoys naps with their dog, printmaking, film photography, and tending to the gym plants.

Unlike our friend Matteo, alex (she/they) was not born with a trace 8 in her umbilical cord. They were, however, born with gills and flippers. Thus, they are a naturally talented swimmer and even earned... an athletic scholarship to a D-I school in the deep South. Alex prefers sport climbing to bouldering, is lo-key obsessed with the East Side and Seoul, and will carve the sh*t out of some rubber to make your micro relief print stamp dreams come true. When she’s not climbing, or playing &/or organizing women’s & queer ultimate frisbee, alex is making a huge mess with supplies in her art studio crafting abolitionist stencils and plotting the overthrow of El*n Musk & J*ff Bez*s.

Fox likes foxes a lot—and offwidths, trad, ice climbing, dry tooling, mountaineering, and adv motorcycle riding. With a background in circus arts (contortion), they enjoy the artful pursuit of movement, euphoria, and masochism, especially when... it brings them to beautiful and remote places in the world. Queer and crafty, when not at the gym or out exploring, Fox can be found in their leather studio working on couture fashion.

Will’s journey began in San Diego, where as a kid he tried his hand at all the usual team sports. After striking out in T-ball, he turned away from sports requiring any semblance of coordination... and joined the cross country team. Finding some success in the art of running away from other people, he ventured forth from California to the East Coast for a spot on a D-I team that resulted in a biology degree. In the ensuing pursuit of medical school, he found himself in Vermont for a master’s degree and eventually on the island of Grenada for what turned out to be a short final attempt at medicine. He has since returned home to California. Will learned to climb in San Diego but his formative climbing years were in Vermont, where he was taught the true power of the Tricam. If not here at Pipeworks, you’ll likely find him at Lover’s Leap or getting to know another of Tahoe’s many crags.

Returning from San Diego, Connor moved back to his home town of Davis during the pandemic where he soon discovered the amazing Pipeworks community and the sport of climbing. Connor has participated in sports his... whole life and loves that climbing gives him an excuse to be active and get outside. Starting off as a boulder bro like many others he found, through the power of friendship, that rope climbing outside is one of his favorite ways to socialize and make new friends. Outside of the gym you can find Connor watching some of the many other sports he keeps up with, playing games with friends, or checking out some of the local breweries.

I am Eliza. I am new to the world of climbing and am having a blast learning the ropes (literally) from the seasoned pros on our team. I’m originally from Grass valley, and have spent... the last five years living in all corners of the Bay Area. When I am not climbing, I’m gearing to pursue a nursing degree. Looking forward to meeting you and sharing the climbing stoke!

Endemic to the Sacramento region yet elusive in the wild, Emlyn is most commonly found at home tending to plants, pets, and a myriad of crafty hobbies. (Don’t get them started talking about yarn –... you’ll never hear the end of it!) When out and about, you’ll see them climbing, hiking, chasing birds for fun, or relaxing at the brewery with a pint and a drop spindle.