The Bay Area is well-known for innovation, and its approach to schools is no different. Millennium School in San Francisco is a middle school focused on experiential, integrated learning. Social equity is an important part of their ethos so they partner with SMART, a San Francisco non-profit, to close the achievement gap and offer participating […]
Diane Ortega has been with Touchstone since 2005, and got her start managing when she opened The Studio Climbing Gym with us in 2012. Now, she’s bringing everything she learned in San Jose to San Francisco. She loves running, lifting, and all things food-related—the next time you see her at the desk, ask her for […]
We knew it was going to be big. We knew it was going to be badass. We knew it was going to be fun…but nothing could prepare us for the sheer awesomeness that was Battle of the Bay 2018. Battle of the Bay is already the largest indoor climbing competition in the U.S. Between the […]
This year’s Color the Crag at Horsepens 40 in Steele, Alabama was bigger than ever. Offering an incredible array of climbing clinics, panels, and breakout sessions ranging from how to project outside to positive masculinity (not to mention some truly powerful events like a keynote delivered by James Mills, a performance by Deqn Sue, and a […]
Climbers often insist that, in addition to being a great workout and a fun way to interact with the outdoors, rock climbing is a creative activity. Boulder problems are puzzles to be solved using your body, oftentimes in configurations that are pretty specific to your strengths and dimensions. It’s no wonder then that students from […]
If you’ve been to Dogpatch Boulders in the past year or so, you’ve no doubt noticed that there’s been some construction going on. While we know it’s been a bit of a hassle, we appreciate everyone’s patience and can assure you that it will all be worth it! We have all sorts of amazing improvements […]
By Eric Nakano. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting up at Castle Rock State Park with a group of young climbers from the Recreational Team at Dogpatch Boulders. This was the first time any of the climbers or parents had been on an outdoor bouldering outing, and I believe everyone in […]
At Dogpatch Boulders, we’re lucky to have groups like Gilman Rec Connect visit us regularly. Gilman Rec Connect is an important resource for local kids that collaborates with other established youth organizations to build on school-day learning with educational after-school projects and activities. This summer program is free to kids in the community and serves some of the […]
At Touchstone Climbing gyms, we’ve worked hard to build a network of climbing clinics that help our beloved members and guests reach their climbing goals. Each clinic falls into one of three tracks: Bouldering, Rope Climbing, and Outdoor Climbing. They can either be taken in order to build a solid progression of knowledge, or sporadically […]
This past month, Dogpatch Boulders was pleased to host the incredible staff of Kiva, an international microlending nonprofit based in San Francisco. As a bouldering gym, we are constantly encouraging positive interactions between friends and strangers alike; it was great to extend that positivity to a group that works so tirelessly to forge new community […]
