Touchstone Athletes

In the early 90s, when Mark Melvin was attracting investors for an ambitious plan to open climbing gyms, he asked Amelia Rudolph, the founder of BANDALOOP, to come and rehearse her new form of dance-climbing in a big empty warehouse in the Mission that later became Mission Cliffs, the first…

Beth was born in San Francisco and grew up in Davis, California. The mountains were always important to her family and she spent most of her family vacations exploring the Sierras. At the age of 14 she started climbing in her local climbing gym. She quickly rose to the top…

Colin grew up in the Sacramento area, and when he found climbing at age 11 it was a perfect fit. He began training for competitions and spent the next several years traveling around the US and world on the US Team. After moving to Berkeley for school, he began coaching…

Born with one hand and raised in the South, Ellie’s first exposure to climbing was her eighth birthday party, but it wasn’t until after college and some false starts that she began climbing in earnest. While in grad school for occupational therapy, she spent her spare time on the wall,…

Growing up, studying the piano was Elliott’s focus. Outdoor sports weren’t his thing. But, in his late teens, Elliott was diagnosed with a degenerative motor neuron disease called hereditary spastic ataxia, dashing his aspirations for a professional career in music. At a pivotal moment in handling his diagnosis, Elliott realized…

After a successful collegiate athletic career as a three-time National Championship winner with the University of Alabama’s wheelchair basketball team, graduating Harvard Law School and establishing herself as a disability rights lawyer, Emily was looking for a new challenge. But the first time she rolled into a climbing gym, she…

Born and raised in the Mission District of San Francisco, Ethan was introduced to the wonders of nature before he could walk. He first set foot in Mission Cliffs at age eight. Mission Cliffs was, and still is, one of the premier climbing gyms in the country, and happens to…

L is a talented creative visionary and an athlete with a camera who is making the outdoors way more inviting, fun, and filled with FLAVOR. She’s been featured on Outside Mag (cover story), Athleta, Patagonia, The North Face, Nat Geo, and beyond. L is a Harvard-trained designer who got into…

Natasha has been climbing since 1991 and has been a professional athlete since 2001. She has earned a spot on the US World Cup Team for both bouldering and sport climbing multiple times, and has sent several V11’s and 5.13d/14a’s outdoors. She earned the Bouldering National Champion title in 2005…

A classic East Bay kid, Pierre spent his childhood playing football in the streets and video games on the couch. He and his brother discovered climbing when, after years of bouncing and tumbling at a local trampoline park, their group of friends were looking for a new challenge. “Diablo Rock…