GWPC Video of TBS 7 The films from the previous Touchstone Bouldering Series Comps have come out. The comp at Pipeworks the other night went great and the next comp at Ironworks promises to be off the hook. While you wait between comps- check out these rad videos.

TBS 7 @ GWPC - Part 2, The Comp from Great Western Power Company on Vimeo.

TBS7 @ GWPC (Part 1 - Setting the Comp) from Great Western Power Company on Vimeo.

Labels: climbing videos, Great Western Power Co., Touchstone Bouldering Series 7

  ¶ Sunday, August 28, 2011 0 Comments

  GWPC Climbing Beta Videos Great Western Power Company put together a couple of videos for those that need a lil more beta on some of the classic problems at the gym. Bryan "Cuz" Hedrick provides some great beta with these Cuz's Corner Videos.

GW Boulder Beta, Ep. 1 from Great Western Power Company on Vimeo.

GWPC Boulder Beta, Ep. 2 from Great Western Power Company on Vimeo.

Find GWPC on their Facebook page for more beta on the latest problems.

Labels: Climbing beta, climbing videos, Great Western Power Co.

  ¶ Monday, June 20, 2011 0 Comments

  Holiday Hours This week, the Touchstone Gyms will have different hours due to the holidays. Check out the schedule below for a list of class times and gym hours.


Even Santa needs to climb on Christmas! Get out there!

Berkeley Ironworks

Friday, December 24th: 6am to 6pm no classes
Saturday, December 25th: Weekend Hours no classes
Sunday, December 26th: Regular hours/classes

Friday, December 31st: 6am to 6pm No Classes
Saturday, January 1st: Closed
Sunday, January 2nd: 6am to 6pm No classes

Diablo Rock Gym

Friday, December 24th: 5:30 am to 6pm No classes
Saturday, December 25th: closed
Sunday, December 26th: 9am to 6pm No Classes

Friday, December 31st: 5:30 am to 6pm No classes
Saturday, January 1st: Closed
Sunday, January 2nd: 9am to 6pm No Classes

Sacramento Pipeworks

Friday, December 24th: 9am to 6pm No Classes
Saturday, December 25th: Closed
Sunday, December 26th: 9am to 6pm No Classes

Friday, December 31st: 9am to 6pm No Classes
Saturday, January 1st: Closed
Sunday, January 2nd: 9am to 6pm No Classes

Mission Cliffs

Friday, December 24th: 6:30 to 7pm No Classes
Saturday, December 25th: Closed
Sunday, December 26th: 9am to 7pm No Classes

Friday, December 31st: 6:30am to 7 pm No Classes
Saturday, January 1st: Closed
Sunday, January 2nd: 9am to 7pm No Classes

Great Western Power Company

Friday, December 24th: 10 am to 6pm No Classes
Saturday, December 25th: Closed
Sunday, December 26th: 10am to 6pm No Classes

Friday, December 31st: 10am to 6pm Crossfit at 5pm
Saturday, January 1st: Closed
Sunday, January 2nd: 10am to 6pm Crossfit at 10am

Labels: Berkeley Ironworks, Diablo Rock Gym, Great Western Power Co., Holiday Hours, mission cliffs, Sacramento Pipeworks

  ¶ Monday, December 20, 2010 0 Comments

  New GWPC Manager Jeremy Yee Jeremy Yee, a 32 Walnut Creek native, joined the Touchstone team recently as manager of Great Western Power Company. Yee is a long time athlete and blossoming climber.

While he attended the University of California at Davis, Yee spent his free time playing on a collegiate inline hockey team. The managerial economics major had played hockey for the past 16 years. Yee began playing as an adolescent and his passion continued through college. These days, his focus has shifted more towards climbing and his family. “It’s tough to have multiple hobbies with a little one,” Yee said regarding his 21 month old daughter Kahana, “but I definitely see myself getting back on skates.”



Yee’s psyche for climbing has increased exponentially since he began the sport four years ago at Diablo Rock Gym. Yee became enamored with climbing as a means to stay healthy and it has turned into his new obsession. “I am really psyched on climbing, on getting better, and seeing how far I can push myself in climbing. I would like to travel more for climbing and get out more and touch more real rock.” Yee and his wife of three years, Nozomi, headed to the northwest earlier this year to visit family and Squamish.
Unfortunately, he ran into typical “northwet” climbing conditions and it rained for his entire 6 day trip. Yee did get to hike the Chief though. Yee has climbed in other countries as well. On his honeymoon, Yee and Nozomi, went to Thailand, where they took long tail boats to 150 limestone cliffs and then climbed right out of the boat.

Speaking about his goals for GWPC, Yee said, “I’d like to help Max and the Crossfit East Bay program expand, find a new core instructor, and get the new fitness room busier. I’ll be keeping up the work that Lyn Verinsky, the former GWPC manager, did by increasing membership, growing the local profile of the gym, and increasing the quantity of programs as well as their quality.”

Stop by Great Western Power Company, meet the new manager, and check out all the great things he has been doing at the gym.

Labels: Crossfit East Bay, Great Western Power Co., Jeremy Yee

  ¶ Thursday, November 11, 2010 0 Comments

  GWPC TBS 6 Photos On October 22nd, Touchstone had its third bouldering comp of the year at Great Western Power Company. The Touchstone Bouldering Series is currently in its 6th year and the comps keep getting better. With free food and beer, an awesome selection of new boulder problems, and a great environment to climb in, the Touchstone comps are unbelievably fun.



Currently Halley Tollner, Camille Kerr, and Cicadia Jenerik are in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively for women's advanced.Hitesh Lala, Matthew Bingham, and Scott Cory hold the top three places for men's advanced.



Bay area photographer and rock climber John Vallejo took some great pictures of the event which can be seen on his gallery site.



The next comp will be at Diablo Rock Gym on November 12th, 2010 in Concord. Come out for a great time climbing and hanging out!

Labels: comp climbing, Great Western Power Co., TBS 6

  ¶ Sunday, October 31, 2010 0 Comments

  Labor Day Hours Touchstone Gyms will be open for Labor Day, September 6th, but many of the gyms will be on weekend hours. There will be no fitness classes on Monday. Normal hours will resume on Tuesday.

Berkeley Ironworks: 9am to 8 pm

Great Western Power Company: 10 am to 6 pm

Diablo Rock Gym: 9 am to 6 pm

Mission Cliffs: 9 am to 7 pm

Sacramento Pipeworks 9 am to 6 pm



Have a great long weekend!

Labels: Berkeley Ironworks, Great Western Power Co., Labor Day

  ¶ Friday, September 03, 2010 0 Comments

  Help Build a Bridge of Opportunity The competition will be fierce. Twelve different teams will be scouring the Bay area for clues. On September 18th, the competitors will come by Great Western Power Company in a charity race patterned after CBS's Amazing Race.

At 9:30 am, the participants will climb up the walls in the gym, snatch a clue from the top, and then quickly head out to their next challenge. It'll be a great adventure is for a good cause. That's where we need help from local climbers. The non-profit organizing the race to help raise money for college scholarships for Foster Youth needs a few volunteers to help belay the climbers from 9:00 am to 10:30 am.

Bridge of Opportunity, the group in charge of the race, has a scholarship to assist less advantaged young men and women who have a strong desire to attend college but, for reasons beyond their control, cannot.



They don’t expect this to last more than one hour. Help out the Bridge of Opportunity. We would need you to be at the gym and ready to go by 9:00 – Participants are expected to arrive at 9:30. Your role is to hook the participants into their harness and belay them. That’s it. If you are interested, please call Bryan @ 925-872-0806 or email him at bryan@gillettes.us .

Labels: Bridge of Opportunity, Great Western Power Co.

  ¶ Sunday, August 29, 2010 0 Comments

  Brothers on The Rise Come to GWPC For the past two years, Brothers on the Rise has brought middle school boys to the Great Western Power Company's downtown Oakland gym. Brothers on the Rise is a youth group with a goal of helping to empower young men to "achieve individual success, develop healthy relationships and contribute to a more just and equitable society through gender-responsive programs that engage males personally and professionally in social service and social change."



For many of the kids, this was their first experience rock climbing. They all got to boulder on the rad problems in the cave, and they tried their hands at toproping on the tall walls of the gym. They had a blast and are all excited to come back later in their summer program.



Touchstone is a proud supporter of groups like Brothers on The Rise and appreciates them coming to the gym for their team building exercises.

Labels: Brothers on the Rise, Great Western Power Co., Youth Climbing

  ¶ Thursday, August 05, 2010 0 Comments

  Oakland Gym Manager Wanted Paul Barraza, the long time manager of Berkeley Ironworks, recently decided to move on from managing one of Touchstone's busiest gyms. All of us at Touchstone would like to thank Paul for his many years of service and wish him all the best as he starts a new career.

Lyn Verinsky, the current manager of Great Western Power Company, will be moving to the Berkeley location to take over for Paul. The transition will be occurring in the next month and a half.

In preparation for these changes Touchstone Climbing is currently seeking to fill a full time manager position for its Oakland location at Great Western Power Company.

The managerial duties include staff management (hiring/firing), gym scheduling, fiscal management and reporting, basic marketing, and responsibility for all customer service issues. We expect our managers to lead by example, have good judgment, and be able to make decisions that correspond with Touchstone's core values. A passion for athleticism is a must, climbing a strong plus. You must be proficient in basic computer skills, Excel and Word, and be comfortable with learning new computer systems. This position is 40 hours per week that includes some evening and weekend hours, but does provide a certain amount of flexibility.

Benefits include health care, dental care, 401K, and vacation time. Career advancement is limited, but quality of job is excellent.

Please send a cover letter and current resume to Markham Connolly at gm3@touchstoneclimbing.com.

Labels: Climbing gym jobs, Great Western Power Co.

  ¶ Thursday, July 22, 2010 0 Comments

  Power Climbing Training "You can train long or you can train hard, but not both — which is probably why so many of us train power so wrongly," Steve Bechtel wrote in a Climbing Magazine Tech Tip about Training for Power.

Many climbers hit plateaus in their climbing. They're unable to do harder climbs not because of a lack of technique but because of a lack of power. Lyn Verinsky, one of the strongest female boulderers in the Bay Area with not only exceptional technique but enough power to crush classic double-digit boulder problems in Yosemite Valley, will be teaching the power training clinic.

Little Blue Anastasia [v8] from Paul B on Vimeo.

Beginning June 21st, Great Western Power Company will be having a Power Training Clinic from 6:30-8 am on Monday mornings. The class costs $60 for 3 weeks and $100 for 10 weeks. There is a limit of six people- classes are small and highly focused. Get up early, get pysched, and get strong!

For those that want to read more check out this article on interval training, also see Berkeley Ironworks Manager's Training 4 Climbing and his thoughts on the Tudor Bumpa 9 week training cycle.

Labels: Great Western Power Co., Lyn Verinsky, Power Training

  ¶ Sunday, June 06, 2010 0 Comments

  GWPC Crew Crushes in Sonora Earlier this week, a car full of Great Western Power Company employees headed out to Sonora's Gold Wall. The overhanging basalt of the Sierra's Foothills makes a perfect place to clip bolts.



The group arrived at the crag and set up to hang. John checked out the wall of 5.10- 5.12 sport climbs.




The season for the Gold wall is usually spring and fall. The left side of the crag gets wet in the winter and the climbing can seep a little. At times, the nearby Grotto can stay dry.
The sun started to come around soon, and Lyn put it well- "It was hot."


Lyn trying to beat the heat on Check Engine Light- 12a

The sun beats down on the cliff- part of the reason why Ryan pulled off his shirt, flexed, and had to grunt his way up the routes. Other climbers at the crag even mentioned it. "Yeah, the Oakland gym manager was there with some kid with blonde hair. He made the craziest noises" said sport climber Dan Foreng about the group. "They were getting after it."


Ryan Moon saving his sending power and doing a little belay duty.

Julie Marmor showed her dedication, destroying her tips but having a blast. Julie said a couple of things about the trip, "I thought the trip was great! I was really happy about being able to do such long climbs. I am a rope climber, so the best challenges for me are the really long ones. Plus! I finally got to do my first outdoor sport climb! It went great! Initially, I was worried that there wouldn't be a climb in my range/comfort zone to lead, but there was this perfect 10B. I managed my way up, with the support of my awesome coworkers, of course.

Lyn and Ryan conquered these crazy 11s and 12s while I sat back took a bunch of pictures. Oh! And while I was belaying John on a sport climb, a HUGE bug started climbing up my leg and trying to crawl under my pants. I yelled up to John that he was damn lucky that I am not one of those girls who freak out because of bugs. I mean, that thing was crazy big and all weird looking."



The group ticked off a few of the classic climbs at the cliff and then made the two hour drive back to Oakland. Leaving a few more routes for another trip to see the beautiful view of Table Mountain.

Labels: Gold Wall, Great Western Power Co., Sonora Sport Climbing

  ¶ Wednesday, May 26, 2010 0 Comments

  Brothers on The Rise Come to GWPC Each of the past two years, Brothers on the Rise has brought middle school boys to the Great Western Power Company's downtown Oakland gym.

The goal of Brothers on the rise is to "responsibly empower male youth to achieve individual success, develop healthy relationships and contribute to a more just and equitable society through gender-responsive programs that engage males personally and professionally in social service and social change."



Brothers on the Rise always has a good time climbing at Great Western Power Company because "gain a kinesthetic learning opportunity, a great team-building experience, and the opportunity to challenge themselves physically and mentally to reach new heights."

Thanks for coming out to GWPC!

The trips are always successful because the boys a We appreciate our partnership with the gym and the discount offered to nonprofits like ours. We look forward to our next trips there. Thanks so much.

Labels: Brothers on the Rise, Great Western Power Co., nonprofits

  ¶ Thursday, May 06, 2010 0 Comments

  Touchstone Rope Series GWPC Video Becky Trafecanty along with John Vallejo and other members of the Touchstone staff made a great video of the Touchstone Rope Series Comp in Oakland's Great Western Power Company. Check out Her awesome video.

TRS GWPC 2010 from Becky Trafecanty on Vimeo.

Labels: Becky Trafecanty, Great Western Power Co., Touchstone Roped Series

  ¶ Tuesday, February 02, 2010 0 Comments

  Holiday Hours In the spirit of the Holidays, the gyms will be having different hours. A lot of employees will be visiting family- more of them will be climbing!

Mission Cliffs
Dec 24- 6:30 Am - 7Pm
Dec 25- Closed for Christmas
Dec 31- 6:30 Am - 7 Pm
Jan 1- Closed for New Year's

Sacramento Pipeworks
Dec 24- 9 Am - 6 Pm
Dec 25- Closed for Christmas
Dec 31- 9 Am - 6 Pm
Jan 1- Closed for New Year's

Berkeley Ironworks
Dec 24 - 6am-6pm No Classes
Dec 25 - Closed for Christmas
Dec 26 - 6 am-6pm No Classes
Dec 31 - 6 am-6pm No Classes
January 1 - Closed For New Year's

Great Western Power Company
Dec 24- 6:30 Am - 6 Pm
Dec 25- Closed for Christmas
Dec 31- 6:30 Am - 6 Pm
Jan 1- Closed for New Year's

Diablo Rock Gym
Dec 24th 5:30 am - 6:00 pm
Dec 25th Closed for Christmas
Dec 26th 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
Dec 31st 5:30 am - 6:00 pm
Jan 1st Closed for New Year's
Jan 2nd 9:00 am - 6:00 pm


The East Side in the Winter.

Labels: Berkeley Ironworks, Diablo Rock Gym, Great Western Power Co., mission cliffs, Sacramento Pipeworks

  ¶ Monday, December 14, 2009 0 Comments

  Moon Bouldering Clinic

Great Western Power Company's Ryan Moon will be having a bouldering clinic this Saturday from 6-8 pm. Moon has been bouldering for a long time. He's traveled across the globe to climb and this summer he attacked the sandstone boulders of South Africa. Come learn excellent technique and how to employ all your power to crush the boulders at the Moon Bouldering Clinic. The cost is $40 per person for members. Sign up at GWPC this week!

Labels: Bouldering Clinic, Great Western Power Co., Ryan Moon

  ¶ Tuesday, December 08, 2009 0 Comments

  GWPC Surgical Climb-A-Thon Success On November 18th, GWPC, in partnership with the Bay Area Surgical Mission, sponsored the first ever Surgical Climb-A-Thon. 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 pay their own travel costs. All proceeds from the Climb-A-Thon went directly toward the purchase of medications, sutures, and bandages.

The event was a huge success. The Climb-A-Thon generated over $1000 dollars for the Bay Area Surgical Mission! The winner of the men's competition climbed 29 routes in 3 hours and the winner of the women's climbed 15 routes!

Thanks to all the support of the Touchstone climbers who joined in and helped make this fundraiser so much fun. Good luck to the surgeons and medical staff as they bring the equipment necessary and help those in the Philippines who need assistance.

Labels: Bay Area Surgical Mission, Climb-A-Thon, Great Western Power Co.

  ¶ Wednesday, November 25, 2009 0 Comments

  Postcards from Mules and LEAP Students The Touchstone Climbing gyms often receive positive feedback from the climbers. In one recent case, former Diablo Rock gym staff member Jeff Sondag's mom sent a poster card from here trip to the Grand Canyon. The coolest part is that the postcard was transported via mule. Its good to see Diablo climbers getting out there!





In other news, on October 8th, the students in the Leaders for Environmental Action Program (LEAP) from Leadership Public School in Richmond participated in a team-building exercise at the Great Western Power Company. They were greeted by a welcoming staff. Vanessa Archambault, LEAP Coordinator, said "Ryan Moon was there to ensure we were climbing safely as well as enjoying ourselves. When one student had trouble starting a route, Ryan was there to offer suggestions and cheer him on." The other students described the fun they had. “It was the most fun I’ve had all year!” -AnnaBelle “It was hard, but at the end I really felt like I got it.” – Jason “I hope we get to do this every month!” Takota

Check out the cool video of the kids climbing and enjoying GWPC!

Leadership Public School - Richmond from GWPC on Vimeo.

Labels: Diablo Rock Gym, Great Western Power Co.

  ¶ Thursday, November 12, 2009 0 Comments

  GWPC Comp video

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!

Labels: Becky Trafecanty, Great Western Power Co., TBS5

  ¶ Wednesday, October 14, 2009 0 Comments

  1/2 off Initiation Fees for October! 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 of the bad winter weather and join Touchstone!

Labels: El Nino, Great Western Power Co., Touchstone Climbing

  ¶ Friday, October 09, 2009 0 Comments

  Oakland Comp Last Friday, over 260 people competed in the recent Touchstone Bouldering comp in Oakland. The free pizza and beer brought in mor than 40 spectators as well, who clamored into the gym to watch the boulderers crank on 58 new problems and win awesome raffle prizes from Evolv, Mtn Hardwear, 5.10, and La Sportiva.

In a moment of pure strength, Mike Abell managed to flash a V10! Gregor Peirce fought hard and won the men's advanced.


Check out more pictures at the Touchstone Gallery and watch the movie of the comp.


Men's Advanced:
1 Greg Peirce
2 Mike Abell
3 Josh Levin



Men's Intermediate
1 Dave Grote
2 Hitesh Lala
3 Wade Clark



Men's Beginner
1 Derek Steer
2 Nitish Nag
3 Ian Johnson



Women's Advanced
1 Melodie Chu
2 Halley Tollner
3 Christina Freschl


Women's Intermediate
1 Shihong Chen
2 Allie Cope
3 Alekist Quach


Women's Beginner
1 Courtney Morrison
2 Jawwei Wang
3 Sierra Dwyer-Voss

Labels: Great Western Power Co., Gregor Peirce, Mike Abell, TBS5

  ¶ Friday, September 25, 2009 0 Comments