Touchstone member and Bay area resident, Gulnur Tumbat spent much of the spring 2014 season on Everest. She wrote a bit about her experience for the Touchstone blog. Getting ready for an 8000-meter expedition is a big deal. It is even bigger for someone like me who has a day job and doesn’t get to […]
My toes dangled over the ledge. I pushed against the tiny sidewalk and shuffled with my back against the wall, staring at the 2,000 foot drop. I fought into a chimney at the end of the narrow “Thank God Ledge.” A few more feet and I’d be done being scared, I hoped. In June of […]
In April 2014 Longtime Touchstone Staff Members Michelle Leung and Jeffrey Kosoff travelled to New Zealand to spend a month recreating amongst birthing Volcanoes, glacier carved Mountains, heavily polished limestone, sandfly infested coastlines and the living descendants of Old Gondwana. Check out their jaw-dropping trip report! The following photos reveal a slice of this journey […]
Tioga Pass is Open! I know there are many other ways into the eastern Sierra, but there is nothing like driving through Tuolumne Meadows to get to a near endless supply of sport, trad and bouldering. Oh, and did I mention free camping and hot springs? And, unlike Yosemite, dogs are OK too… To make […]
I hold a tangle of quick draws at my side and use my other hand to shade my eyes as I look up at the rock. I squint, scanning the line for anything that catches the sun, that shines, that’s metallic. Hey dude will you check the guidebook for how many bolts this climb has? […]
There are also a few routes that stand out in my mind purely for the amazing quality of the climbing. Clean lines, perfect rock, beautiful scenery, and no crowds. These are the routes dreams are made of. They motivate us through the rainy days and keep us going to the gym on cold nights. During a […]
-Me: Wanna go out and try Endless Bummer with me this weekend?! -Potential Sport Climbing Partner: No thanks, that thing’s way too bouldery for me. -Potential Bouldering Partner: No thanks, sport climbing sucks. These were the conversations that were most popular when trying to try Endless Bummer out near Mickey’s Beach on the California coast. […]
There was something profoundly terrifying about watching my climbing partner’s left shoe float away from his twisting body and fall a thousand feet onto the boulder field below us. The nut Will Skinner was standing on had just pinged out of the crack and Will was falling backwards in what seemed like slow motion. After […]
Recently six Touchstone climbers took a trip to Joe’s Valley, a bouldering mecca located three hours south of Salt Lake City, Utah. The climbed, they camped, they crushed. All normal for a week long trip. But THIS trip was anything but normal.This was a GIRLS TRIP. The Touchstone Blog has been granted viewing rights to […]
I found myself on the car ride back from my post-Thanksgiving Joshua Tree trip with a little bit less skin, a lot less pride, a lot more dirt, and just the right amount of necessary introspection. Let me explain. Climbing has always been a multifaceted sport for me, as I must assume it is for […]
