Touchstone Blog Archive
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Gregor Peirce: On a Mission
Gregor Peirce, a 19 year old Touchstone route setter for the past year, has had a very successful season in Bishop this year.
After making the 6 hour drive from the Bay to the Buttermilk boulders, Gregor hiked directly to the classic crimp fest The Swarm a V13/14 in fading light.
“I didn't warm up because I was running out of daylight and I had to make every try count because I was running back and forth between the camera and the base of the climb,” said Gregor. “A few tries in I found myself standing on the top. It was an amazing feeling to send it all by myself with no one around.”
On the drive back to his campsite, he stopped by the Grandma Peabody, and Direction, a V13. “I had no expectations, but I threw on my headlamp and a couple tries later I had sent the thing,” said Gregor.
In between setting at the Touchstone gyms and taking classes at Diablo Valley College, Gregor back packs, boogie boards, and plays a mean game of ping pong. “Watch out Scott Frye,” he warned the current Touchstone ping pong master.
Gregor first went to Diablo Rock Gym when he was ten years old. The family trip with his two older brothers and his dad was a memorable one. “I cried my way up a 5.7 on my first day.” Gregor began climbing in earnest two years later. “. I remember begging my parents to drive me to the gym. Fortunately, my mom liked to read so she would sit in the car and read a couple nights a week while I climbed.”
Gregor got strong fast. At 15, he won the Youth Nationals, at 16 he made the adult finals, and at 18 he won Youth Nationals again. In between he climbed Scott Frye’s classic Surf Safari, a 5.13d near Mickey’s Beach. He also climbed The Buttermilker, a V13 at the Buttermilks and Crusader For Justice, a V13 at Moe’s Valley.
“It is a mystery how I ever got strong enough to do these thing,” said Gregor. “I have been climbing much less than I used to. I only climb when I am motivated now and I think that that helps a lot. I also do some core exercises and focus on getting quality climbing sessions in. There really is no training or anything scientific about what I do. Just climb and have fun!”
On February 8th,Gregor leaves to serve full time as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Joao Pessoa Brazil Mission. “But before I leave I have a few boulder projects to take care of,” said Gregor. When he returns he plans on continuing his schooling and climbing for fun.
Good luck Gregor and keep crushing!
After making the 6 hour drive from the Bay to the Buttermilk boulders, Gregor hiked directly to the classic crimp fest The Swarm a V13/14 in fading light.
“I didn't warm up because I was running out of daylight and I had to make every try count because I was running back and forth between the camera and the base of the climb,” said Gregor. “A few tries in I found myself standing on the top. It was an amazing feeling to send it all by myself with no one around.”
On the drive back to his campsite, he stopped by the Grandma Peabody, and Direction, a V13. “I had no expectations, but I threw on my headlamp and a couple tries later I had sent the thing,” said Gregor.
The Swarm from Gregor Peirce on Vimeo
In between setting at the Touchstone gyms and taking classes at Diablo Valley College, Gregor back packs, boogie boards, and plays a mean game of ping pong. “Watch out Scott Frye,” he warned the current Touchstone ping pong master.
Gregor first went to Diablo Rock Gym when he was ten years old. The family trip with his two older brothers and his dad was a memorable one. “I cried my way up a 5.7 on my first day.” Gregor began climbing in earnest two years later. “. I remember begging my parents to drive me to the gym. Fortunately, my mom liked to read so she would sit in the car and read a couple nights a week while I climbed.”
Gregor got strong fast. At 15, he won the Youth Nationals, at 16 he made the adult finals, and at 18 he won Youth Nationals again. In between he climbed Scott Frye’s classic Surf Safari, a 5.13d near Mickey’s Beach. He also climbed The Buttermilker, a V13 at the Buttermilks and Crusader For Justice, a V13 at Moe’s Valley.
“It is a mystery how I ever got strong enough to do these thing,” said Gregor. “I have been climbing much less than I used to. I only climb when I am motivated now and I think that that helps a lot. I also do some core exercises and focus on getting quality climbing sessions in. There really is no training or anything scientific about what I do. Just climb and have fun!”
On February 8th,Gregor leaves to serve full time as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Joao Pessoa Brazil Mission. “But before I leave I have a few boulder projects to take care of,” said Gregor. When he returns he plans on continuing his schooling and climbing for fun.
Good luck Gregor and keep crushing!
Labels: Buttermilk Boulders, Direction, Gregor Peirce, The Swarm
¶ Tuesday, December 20, 2011 0 Comments
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Buttermilk Toilet Proposal Comments Needed
Wills Young, a long time Bishop climber and author of the Bishop Bouldering guide book, recently posted an article on his blog about the promised building of a pit toilet at the Buttermilks climbing area. Young discusses the two options that are presented and provided contact information for comments on the proposed toilet sites. Below is the information from Young's blog. Please send in your comments about the Forest Service decision.
Andrew Schurr of the group Friends of the Inyo wrote to me recently about a proposal from the Forest Service to construct one or two permanent pit toilets with wheelchair accessible paths adjacent to the Buttermilk boulders.
The proposal mentions two locations: 1) the parking/turn-around at the Birthday Boulders, and 2) the gravel pit just before the Peabody Boulders on the right hand side of Buttermilk Road. This latter is an old borrow pit that has become a large parking pullout at the base of an old disused 4-wheel-drive track a hundred yards or so before the Peabody Boulders.
The Forest Service proposal states an intent to build a toilet at the Birthday Boulders either at the end of the summer or early fall this year, and then to build a second one at the gravel pit also known as the "borrow pit" only if needed.
I would prefer not to see a permanent structure placed at the Birthday Boulders as it would be ugly and present other problems. So choosing the borrow pit location as the first, and ideally, the only option would seem like a better approach to me. Here’s why:
Visual problems:
Birthday Boulders Site: Visual impacts would be a disaster here. A permanent toilet would be an eyesore. This area is high on a plain and, as viewed from the boulders, any toilet structure will stand out against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This area is famed for its beauty. Why ruin it?
Borrow Pit Site: This would not ruin the view from the boulders. From nearly all perspectives this location will be unobtrusive. Even a large toilet block here could be made to blend in against the hillside and have little impact.
Camping problems:
Birthday Boulders Site: We really must do what we can to REDUCE camping in and around the Birthday Boulders and the Birthday Boulders parking spots. A toilet placed here would undoubtedly increase camping at this location. This fragile area is not suited as a permanent campsite with all the accompanying erosion and visual impacts of tents, cars, campers, networks of paths etc. I would like to encourage people to camp away from the boulders.
Borrow Pit Site: Increased camping here will have less of an impact as the area is less visible and is already impacted from previous use.
Access problems:
Birthday Boulders Site: This is a site nearly exclusively used by climbers. It is at the end of a spur, off of a small side road that diverges from the only regularly used access road to the Buttermilk area. Climbers specifically choose this place to park for its proximity to the boulders, and on busy days all the parking in this vicinity is taken up by climbers. Few if any other users choose to take this spur road and so this climber-specific location may lessen the value of the toilet for all other groups as well as present a parking problem.
Borrow Pit Site: This site is occasionally used as a parking spot by climbers, but is rarely if ever filled with climbers’ cars. The nearby road is wide and easily accessible by all users of the Buttermilk area. This site is conveniently located beside the only regularly used approach road to the area, taken by virtually everyone.
Winter Access Problems
Birthday Boulders Site: During the winter this site is often inaccessible due to snow, sometimes for weeks.
Borrow Pit Site: Even while the upper area is blocked by snow, the lower site and lower bouldering areas remain in use and nearly always accessible.
Usefulness Problems:
Birthday Boulders Site: Even for many climbers, this site will require a special trip to reach. The site is off of a side road, and along a spur. People approaching the Buttermilks in the morning and intending to climb at any of the lower locations first reached, which is a large proportion of all climbers, could be discouraged from making a special trip to use the facilities. Adding to the discouragement could be a cluster of cars trying to get into and out of this already-crowded turn-around. The roads there are narrow and will get stretched as cars attempt to park and/or pass each other.
Borrow Pit Site: As stated above the location is beside everyone’s approach so there’s no reason not to use it for anyone needing to ”go” as they arrive at the area. The Buttermilk Road is wide at this point and stopping would be relatively easy.
The comment period for this proposal is 30 days and nearly up. In fact those wishing to express their opinion on this only have until July 15 to do so. Please submit comments to Lesley Yen, White Mountain Ranger District, 798 N. Main Street, Bishop, CA 93514; fax 760-873-2563; phone 760-873-2524; email lyen@fs.fed.us. There is a link to proposed actions here. I believe I have expressed the proposal accurately but if you wish to see the two-page pdf from the Forest Service please drop a line to Lesley or me (email young.wills@gmail.com) and ask for it.
Please take a moment to add your comments to the Forest Service plan.
Andrew Schurr of the group Friends of the Inyo wrote to me recently about a proposal from the Forest Service to construct one or two permanent pit toilets with wheelchair accessible paths adjacent to the Buttermilk boulders.
The proposal mentions two locations: 1) the parking/turn-around at the Birthday Boulders, and 2) the gravel pit just before the Peabody Boulders on the right hand side of Buttermilk Road. This latter is an old borrow pit that has become a large parking pullout at the base of an old disused 4-wheel-drive track a hundred yards or so before the Peabody Boulders.
The Forest Service proposal states an intent to build a toilet at the Birthday Boulders either at the end of the summer or early fall this year, and then to build a second one at the gravel pit also known as the "borrow pit" only if needed.
I would prefer not to see a permanent structure placed at the Birthday Boulders as it would be ugly and present other problems. So choosing the borrow pit location as the first, and ideally, the only option would seem like a better approach to me. Here’s why:
Visual problems:
Birthday Boulders Site: Visual impacts would be a disaster here. A permanent toilet would be an eyesore. This area is high on a plain and, as viewed from the boulders, any toilet structure will stand out against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This area is famed for its beauty. Why ruin it?
Borrow Pit Site: This would not ruin the view from the boulders. From nearly all perspectives this location will be unobtrusive. Even a large toilet block here could be made to blend in against the hillside and have little impact.
Camping problems:
Birthday Boulders Site: We really must do what we can to REDUCE camping in and around the Birthday Boulders and the Birthday Boulders parking spots. A toilet placed here would undoubtedly increase camping at this location. This fragile area is not suited as a permanent campsite with all the accompanying erosion and visual impacts of tents, cars, campers, networks of paths etc. I would like to encourage people to camp away from the boulders.
Borrow Pit Site: Increased camping here will have less of an impact as the area is less visible and is already impacted from previous use.
Access problems:
Birthday Boulders Site: This is a site nearly exclusively used by climbers. It is at the end of a spur, off of a small side road that diverges from the only regularly used access road to the Buttermilk area. Climbers specifically choose this place to park for its proximity to the boulders, and on busy days all the parking in this vicinity is taken up by climbers. Few if any other users choose to take this spur road and so this climber-specific location may lessen the value of the toilet for all other groups as well as present a parking problem.
Borrow Pit Site: This site is occasionally used as a parking spot by climbers, but is rarely if ever filled with climbers’ cars. The nearby road is wide and easily accessible by all users of the Buttermilk area. This site is conveniently located beside the only regularly used approach road to the area, taken by virtually everyone.
Winter Access Problems
Birthday Boulders Site: During the winter this site is often inaccessible due to snow, sometimes for weeks.
Borrow Pit Site: Even while the upper area is blocked by snow, the lower site and lower bouldering areas remain in use and nearly always accessible.
Usefulness Problems:
Birthday Boulders Site: Even for many climbers, this site will require a special trip to reach. The site is off of a side road, and along a spur. People approaching the Buttermilks in the morning and intending to climb at any of the lower locations first reached, which is a large proportion of all climbers, could be discouraged from making a special trip to use the facilities. Adding to the discouragement could be a cluster of cars trying to get into and out of this already-crowded turn-around. The roads there are narrow and will get stretched as cars attempt to park and/or pass each other.
Borrow Pit Site: As stated above the location is beside everyone’s approach so there’s no reason not to use it for anyone needing to ”go” as they arrive at the area. The Buttermilk Road is wide at this point and stopping would be relatively easy.
The comment period for this proposal is 30 days and nearly up. In fact those wishing to express their opinion on this only have until July 15 to do so. Please submit comments to Lesley Yen, White Mountain Ranger District, 798 N. Main Street, Bishop, CA 93514; fax 760-873-2563; phone 760-873-2524; email lyen@fs.fed.us. There is a link to proposed actions here. I believe I have expressed the proposal accurately but if you wish to see the two-page pdf from the Forest Service please drop a line to Lesley or me (email young.wills@gmail.com) and ask for it.
Please take a moment to add your comments to the Forest Service plan.
Labels: bishop climbing, Buttermilk Boulders, Wills Young
¶ Thursday, July 07, 2011 0 Comments
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Holiday Climbing Destinations
This weekend many people will be busy with family, holiday festivities, and the fun events around Christmas. Hopefully, all the Touchstone members are having a great time doing just that and are getting pysched for future climbing trips. Next weekend will be an awesome time to head out and climb!
A holiday climbing party in Bishop
California has a number of great winter climbing destinations. Cragging in the sun on the down canyon cliffs of Yosemite is a great distraction. The bouldering temps on the granite crimps of Bishop's Buttermilks can be awesome, and the fun moderate trad climbs and highball boulder problems of Joshua Tree can be perfect.
Winter weather can affect the desert. Make sure you're prepared.
As you plan your trip, make sure to look at the conditions for the past week and not just the past few days. Joshua Tree has desert weather all year. The National Park dries quickly when it does rain. Joshua Tree has great climbing but a lot of it involves long hikes through the desert and the rock can be sharp. It's an ideal place for those looking for an adventure.
Jen Atkin eyeballing the highball bouldering classic Slashface in Joshua Tree
Located on the east side of the Sierras, Bishop sits in something of a rain shadow. Severe winter storms can head over the mountains though and dump feet of snow, making the climbing less accessible after storms. The sport climbing at Owens gets little winter sun at many cliffs, and the Buttermilks can be covered in a few feet of snow. The Tablelands are a better bet for winter bouldering in Bishop. That being said, Bishop is the best winter climbing spot in California- the quality of climbing is excellent.
Yosemite's winter weather conditions are typically snowy, wet, but there are occasional periods of dry, sunny weather. The crags down canyon- like the Cookie Cliff and Arch Rock, receive lots of sun and can be great places to climb. Think t-shirts in January. The conditions have to be right though.
Keep an eye on the weather as the weekends approach. Here's a great site to check the weather- Climbing Weather.com
A holiday climbing party in Bishop
California has a number of great winter climbing destinations. Cragging in the sun on the down canyon cliffs of Yosemite is a great distraction. The bouldering temps on the granite crimps of Bishop's Buttermilks can be awesome, and the fun moderate trad climbs and highball boulder problems of Joshua Tree can be perfect.
Winter weather can affect the desert. Make sure you're prepared.
As you plan your trip, make sure to look at the conditions for the past week and not just the past few days. Joshua Tree has desert weather all year. The National Park dries quickly when it does rain. Joshua Tree has great climbing but a lot of it involves long hikes through the desert and the rock can be sharp. It's an ideal place for those looking for an adventure.
Jen Atkin eyeballing the highball bouldering classic Slashface in Joshua Tree
Located on the east side of the Sierras, Bishop sits in something of a rain shadow. Severe winter storms can head over the mountains though and dump feet of snow, making the climbing less accessible after storms. The sport climbing at Owens gets little winter sun at many cliffs, and the Buttermilks can be covered in a few feet of snow. The Tablelands are a better bet for winter bouldering in Bishop. That being said, Bishop is the best winter climbing spot in California- the quality of climbing is excellent.
Yosemite's winter weather conditions are typically snowy, wet, but there are occasional periods of dry, sunny weather. The crags down canyon- like the Cookie Cliff and Arch Rock, receive lots of sun and can be great places to climb. Think t-shirts in January. The conditions have to be right though.
Keep an eye on the weather as the weekends approach. Here's a great site to check the weather- Climbing Weather.com
Labels: Buttermilk Boulders, Cookie Cliff, Slash Face
¶ Wednesday, December 22, 2010 0 Comments
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Fall Highball-American Alpine Club at Bishop's Buttermilks
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 Robinson will present a show on decades of adventure in the Sierra. Tickets are $10 and include drinks and snacks. The party will take place at the Inyo Council for the Arts, 137 South Main St, Bishop, CA.
Nov 8: 10am Climber Coffee at Peabody Boulders. Come meet the agencies who manage Eastern Sierra climbing resources.
The proceeds from the slide show will be going towards building a pit toilet in the Buttermilks.
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 Robinson will present a show on decades of adventure in the Sierra. Tickets are $10 and include drinks and snacks. The party will take place at the Inyo Council for the Arts, 137 South Main St, Bishop, CA.
Nov 8: 10am Climber Coffee at Peabody Boulders. Come meet the agencies who manage Eastern Sierra climbing resources.
The proceeds from the slide show will be going towards building a pit toilet in the Buttermilks.
Labels: American Alpine Club, Buttermilk Boulders, Doug Robinson
¶ Wednesday, November 04, 2009 0 Comments
