Touchstone News

Mission Cliffs Women's Showers

2009-11-11T16:31:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, November 15, the women's showers at Mission Cliffs will be closed for re-tiling. Sorry for the inconvenience. Hope to see you cranking in the gym!

Yosemite Bouldering: Tapdance and Moffat Start Videos

2009-11-10T16:38:00.001-08:00

Recently, Siemay Lee, a doctor from Genoa Nevada, visited Yosemite with Dr. Noah Kaufman, who works at the Yosemite Medical Clinic. The two got out and bouldered in some great conditions. Siemay pulled down on Tim Clifford's slopey boulder problem Tapdance. The V10 is located on the opposite side of Dominator in the Camp 4 boulders. Check out the inspiring footage of Siemay "Crusher" Lee.On the

TBS5 Finale at Ironworks

2009-11-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

The final competition of the Touchstone Bouldering Series will be held November 13 at Berkeley Ironworks. The event, which starts at 6, will give competitors a chance to crank on a ton of new boulder problems, eat lots of free pizza, drink way too much beer, and have an excellent time. Come to Ironworks Friday night for a free comp t-shirt and a lot of fun!

Wild & Scenic Film Festival

2009-11-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

Access Fund Brings Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival to Berkeley, California The Access Fund, the national advocacy organization that keeps U.S. climbing areas open and conserves the climbing environment, is set to host the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival in Berkeley, California, on Thursday, November 12th, 2009. The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is a night of inspiring

Outward Bound at Mission Cliffs

2009-11-05T19:11:00.000-08:00

The Outward Bound Youth Leadership Corps made a recent trip to Mission Cliffs helping their transfer from summer climbing and backpacking trips in the Sierras to climbing in the gyms of San Francisco. Maggie Lyons, the community liaison for Outward Bound, along with the 2009 Leadership Awardees joined Sherry and the Mission Cliffs staff for a fun day of climbing. Maggie wrote, "It was great for

Fall Highball-American Alpine Club at Bishop's Buttermilks

2009-11-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

The AAC Sierra Nevada Section's annual Fall Highball will take place in Bishop, CA on November 7-8. Join the AAC as well as Friends of Inyo for an Adopt-a-Crag in the Buttermilks, slideshows and parties at night in Bishop, and Climber Coffee the next morning. Nov 7: 9am-1pm Adopt-a-Crag. Meet at Peabody Boulders (6.6 miles up Buttermilks Rd).Nov 7: 6:30pm Fall Highball Slideshow and Party. Doug

Mission Cliffs and Headcount -promoting voter registeration

2009-11-02T16:43:00.000-08:00

On Sunday October 25th, Mission Cliffs hosted a climbing party for the group HeadCount. HeadCount works with a wide range of musicians to encourage civic engagement. HeadCount artist partners include Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, Jack Johnson, Nine Inch Nails, Wilco, Phish and John Mayer, to name just a few. Marc Brownstein, bassist for the popular electronic rock band The Disco Biscuits, helped

DRG Comp Video

2009-11-01T15:56:00.001-08:00

Check out the recent video made of the Touchstone Bouldering Series comp at Diablo Rock Gym.TBS5 @ Diablo Rock Gym from Diablo Rock Gym on Vimeo.

Yosemite Bouldering: First Ascent of 601

2009-10-30T11:24:00.001-07:00

With temps in Yosemite still ideal, and the pysche high, the Bay area BetaBase crew has been crushing, establishing a slew of new problems across the Valley. Check out this video of hardman Paul Barraza, the Berkeley Ironworks manager, sending the first ascent of 601, a new V8 on the El Cap boulder.

Women's Beginning Climbing Series at Mission Cliffs

2009-10-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

Join Kristin for a 3-part Women's Beginning Climbing series on Wednesdays, November 4th, 11th & 18th. This is a great clinic for those that know how to belay but would like more climbing technique tips. Work on hand & footwork, body movement, tech drills, safety...and lots of climbing! Join a small group for three memorable classes.Sign-up at the front desk, or call Mission Cliffs at 415 550-

CRAGS Reel Rock Film Fest at Pipeworks

2009-10-28T07:57:00.000-07:00

CRAGS (Climbing Resource Advocates for Greater Sacramento) recently hosted the Reel Rock Film Fest at Sacramento Pipeworks as a fundraiser for their advocacy activities. The crowd was estimated at over 150 people and after all expenses, they managed to raise slightly over $1,200. Most of this will go toward hosting the Reel Rock again next year. Of issues the group is working on, CRAGS Chairman

GWPC Surgical Climb-A-Thon

2009-10-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

On November 18th at 6PM, GWPC, in partnership with the Bay Area Surgical Mission, is proud to sponsor the first ever Surgical Climb-A-Thon. What's this about? The Bay Area Surgical Mission, a group of volunteer physicians and nurses, travels each year to the Philippines to offer free surgical care to indigenous populations. The physicians who go on these missions donate their time as well as

GWPC Employees Caught on Security Cameras

2009-10-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

The employees of Great Western Power Company can get a little wild. The security cameras at GWPC were installed to keep a watchful eye on the premises and the employees. On the way to perform a routine bathroom check, Ji, and Ryan busted out in a full on dance battle. Check out the footage courtesy of the security cameras. GWPC Dance-Off Extravaganza MegaMix (Jim & Ryan) from Ryan Moon on

Ted Lowe- Familar face of Mission Cliffs

2009-10-22T11:15:00.000-07:00

There is a familiar face at Mission Cliffs that we won't be seeing anymore. Our long time friend Ted Lowe unexpectedly left this life last week, way too soon for any of us that knew him. Ted loved to ski, windsurf and of course, climb. In some ways this was a second home to him. Many of his valuable and lasting relationships began and grew here in the same way they have for all members, finding

Yosemite Rocktober

2009-10-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

The fall temps have descended upon Yosemite Valley. Today was beautiful, crisp, and perfect for bouldering around the South Side of the Valley. For those who aren't pysched to boulder already, check out this video of Touchstone tough stuff, Natasha Barnes, crushing Do-bop, a sweet V7 crack by the Cathedral rocks.Natasha on "Do-bop" [v7] from scott chandler on Vimeo.

New Sport Climbing Book from Rock & Ice Editor Andrew Bisharat

2009-10-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Andrew Bisharat, a Senior Editor at Rock & Ice magazine, is releasing a stellar new book on Sport Climbing. The book, Sport Climbing: From Toprope to Redpoint Techniques for Climbing Success, will be available later this month through The Mountaineers Book and can easily be found on Amazon.com. The book will cover free climbing technique, gear safety, how to lead, better onsighting, better

Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival

2009-10-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

Access Fund Brings Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival to Berkeley, California Boulder, Colorado, October 14th, 2009 — The Access Fund, the national advocacy organization that keeps U.S. climbing areas open and conserves the climbing environment, is set to host the Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival in Berkeley, California, on Thursday, November 12th, 2009. The Wild & Scenic Film

DRG Yoga Series

2009-10-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

Diablo Rock Gym will be holding two new Yoga classes in the next few weeks. The first, on Saturday, October 24th, from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM, will be with Angie. She will be teaching Yoga for the lower back.Voted “Best Yoga Teacher of the East Bay” by Diablo Magazine in 2007, Angie has taught classes, clinics and workshops in the area for nearly eight years. Her training includes dual certiﬁcation

GWPC Comp video

2009-10-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

GWPC - TBS5 from Becky Trafecanty on Vimeo.Great Western Power Company boulderer, Becky Trafecanty made this awesome video with the help of the GWPC staff. The Touchstone Bouldering Series really is this rad. Check out Becky's video!

Daniel Arnold's Early Days in the Range of Light

2009-10-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

Early Days in the Range of Light follows climber Daniel Arnold as he retraces the footsteps of his climbing forefathers and provides us with a firsthand account as he follows the most adventurous climbs of John Muir, Clarence King, and many others. Arnold takes us back to the early days of climbing when mountaineers conquered the Sierra Nevada with only limited supplies. In the spirit of his

1/2 off Initiation Fees for October!

2009-10-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

Tell your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers: if they sign up in October at any Touchstone gym, they will receive 50% off their initiation fee. Remember, members have full use of the gym, all the climbing, fitness classes, yoga and more. The beginner climbing class is included with membership, so there are no excuses not to join. Rumor has it, this is an El Nino year . . . get ahead

Monkey Man

2009-10-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

There a thousand different ways to climb. In India, a man has developed his own style of climbing by fusing free-soloing, buildering, and parkour. Check out the Indian "Monkey King"'s cool moves. For a clip of the video with commentary check out the other You-tube Video.

1st Anniversary of Hans Florine Nose Speed Record

2009-10-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

Last year, Hans Florine made a blindingly fast ascent of The Nose of El Capitan with Yuji Hirayama. The pair topped out the 2,000 foot granite monolith in less time than it takes to drive to the base from the Bay. As part of the anniversary of this world record, Hans Florine is hosting a benefit for the Yosemite Institute and Yosemite Association by having a multi-media presentation, raffle,

Yosemite Rockfall in Curry Village

2009-10-06T10:53:00.001-07:00

On September 29, between 5 and 7 a.m., approximately 150 tons of rock in a 55 cubic meter area fell from the area around Staircase Falls in Yosemite's Curry Village. The rockfall created a massive amount of debris but luckily didn't spread beyond the talus slope so there were no injuries or damage to the employee housing areas located just below the fall zone. For more information check out the

Free Sailing in the Berkeley Marina

2009-10-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

On October 18, 2009, the OCSC Sailing club will be providing a free two hour sailing experience at the Berkeley Marina. This two hour sail is free for Touchstone Ironworks members and will provide a great glimpse into the sport of sailing. The first sail of the day will launch at 10 AM and continue until 4 PM. Call 510.843.4200 or email info@ocsc.com to sign up today!