Touchstone Blog Archive
TBS tonight in San Francisco.

Labels: comps, mission cliffs, TBS4
TRS Finale at Mission Cliffs: TONIGHT!

Labels: comps, mission cliffs, Touchstone Roped Series
Touchstone Members at World Championships

Four Touchstone Members on the Zero Gravity Climbing Team competed in the Youth World Championships in Sydney, Australia this past month. Josh Levin and Cicada Jenerik Podiumed. Josh had the best overall showing with a Bronze Medal in Speed and a 7th place in difficulty. Cicada also scored a Bronze in Speed and was absolutely crushing in Semifinals until her foot unexpectedly popped. She ended up 14th. Gabi Masse and Scott Cory were also in first heading into Semis but ended up 21st and 14th.
Next years Youth World Championships will be in France.
Gabi, Cicada, Scott, Josh and Scot Jenerik (coach) would like to give a huge thanks to everyone at Touchstone who supported the team by buying raffle tickets.
Labels: Cicada Jenerik, climbing, comps, kids, Scott Cory, Zero Gravity
Mystery Comp

On Friday September 5th, Berkeley Ironworks hosted an informal 'Mystery Comp'. But just what exactly is a mystery comp? Well, there were 49 new boulder problems in the wave, but no grades - hence the mystery. To make things even more interesting, the points were distributed randomly! So the strategy was to find the easiest climb for the points and ask other people how hard things were.
Justin Ghan solved the mystery in the men's division and Emily Engie won the women's division. Stay tuned for other random and fun events at Berkeley Ironworks in the future.
Labels: Berkeley Ironworks, climbing, comps
TRS3 hits Sacramento

In its fourth and final stop before the grand finale, Touchstone Roped Series 3 will be at Sacramento Pipeworks on Friday August 22nd from 6 to 10pm. Temperatures are sure to be hot, but the climbing action will be even hotter with well over 100 people expected to compete. You can look forward to food, liquid refreshments, a t-shirt and even an icy treat or two. All ages and abilities are welcome, so come join the fun!
Labels: climbing, comps
Zero Gravity Members off to Worlds

The Touchstone youth on the
Zero Gravity Climbing Team have had an amazing season this year. The team easily swept the top spots at the USA Climbing Northern California Regional Championships in May, which was hosted by Touchstone at the Great Western Power Company in Oakland. Zero Gravity were Regional Champions for the third straight year and the entire team qualified for the Division 1 Championships in Salt Lake City in June. Division 1 is easily the strongest division in the country and though a few kids were dropped there, ZG had multiple podiums and 10 of the team members qualified for Nationals, 9 in difficulty and 7 in speed.
At the National Championships the weekend of July 11-13 in Sunnyvale, CA seven of the nine made finals in difficulty. Zero Gravity placed 2nd in the country for Difficulty in the team scoring. Cicada Jenerik (4th) , Joshua Levin (2nd difficulty, National Champion in Speed) and Scott Cory (3rd) were all selected for the US National Team and will be competing in Sydney Australia at the end of August along with their Canadian National Teammate Gabi Masse. Eric Sanchez (4th) and Hannah Le (5th) both missed the team selection by 1 place. Nick Bradley (7th), Sera Busse, Yolan Caballero and Dakota Schwartz also competed.
Full results can be found at
http://www.scsnationals.org/details/index.htmZero Gravity will be hosting a raffle at Mission Cliffs starting the first week of August to help the team travel to Sydney, Australia for the Youth World Championships (August 27-31) Please help them out and you may win some great gear from Madrock, PMI, Pranah, and more.
Labels: Cicada Jenerik, climbing, comps, kids, Scott Cory, Zero Gravity
TRS 2008 gets 2 Thumbs Up

The Touchstone Rope Series visited Diablo Rock Gym last Friday with just under one hundred competitors joining in the fun. Not all 18 routes were sent but the tricky beta of the night goes to the 11.D with a finger crack that thwarted most. Climbing movies and guitar hero entertained spectators and those who turned in their scorecards early. The usual pizza and beer ended the night well and according to most people the night received two thumbs up.
Labels: climbing, comps, concord, Diablo Rock Gym, Touchstone Roped Series
TRS3 Charges into the East Bay

Friday may be the 13th but yours won't be unlucky if you come by the Diablo Rock Gym for a fun filled night of friendly competition. There is no need to cower at home in fear of black cats or broken mirrors when you think of all the great things you'll be missing. When you combine great climbing, free pizza, beer, & T-shirts any superstitious thought should be a fleeting memory. There will be 18 stellar new routes ready to be sent. This will be the second of five rope climbing competitions in the third season of the TRS. To learn more click here. Registration opens at 5:30pm. Climbing starts at 6:00pm and ends at 10:00pm. This is a FREE event for members and $10 for non-members.
Labels: climbing, comps, concord, Diablo Rock Gym, Touchstone Roped Series
TRS 2008 & SCS Wrap-Up

Even though (or because?) there were the fewest competitors in the history of the TRS, Friday night's kickoff was a blast. Competitors came from all the gyms, except Sacramento, and every gym had a winner in at least one category. Great Western climbers represented, with Tony Calvert taking first in Men's Advanced and Erin Goodling crushing the Women's Beginner field. For full results, check the competitions page on the Touchstone website and more photos are in the gallery.
The fun just kept going with the SCS Regional Competition on Saturday, where the best of Northern California junior competition climbers showed off their stuff. Touchstone members led in almost every category with familiar names like Scott Cory, Cicada Jenerik, Gabie Masse and Sera Busse in the first place slot for each of their categories. See photos of the competition on flickr as well as results here.
For those of you who missed the competition, come check out all the new routes at GWPC!
Labels: Cicada Jenerik, climbing, comps, Great Western Power Co., oakland, Scott Cory, Touchstone Roped Series
TRS 2008 Kickoff

Don't you remember how fun the TRS2 was last year? Well, expect an even better time as the TRS3 kicks off at the Great Western Power Company TODAY at 6PM. Series T-shirts make a comeback, so don't miss out on getting one of the coveted "I Climbed" tees. Of course there's beer, soda and pizza as well as 18 NEW routes for climbers of all abilities. Come to climb, socialize and do stupid human tricks. Registration starts at 5:30PM and all climbing ceases at 10PM sharp. FREE to members, 10 well spent dollars for non-members. See you there!
Labels: climbing, comps, Touchstone Roped Series
Fundraiser for Laila! Saturday, May 10th!

As some of you may know, in mid-April, Laila (Berkeley Ironworks staffer Tommy Halvorson's dog) fell from the top of Main Rock at Mickey’s Beach. Apparently she is made of rubber, escaping the 50-60 foot fall with only a broken leg. However, repairing her leg came with a very large price tag-around $8,000.
Luckily, Laila is a part of the Touchstone community and on Saturday, May 10 from 6-10pm, BIW is putting on a Bouldering Comp to raise money for the vet bills! That’s right, Bouldering for Laila! There will be free beer and hot dogs, prizes for the winner of each division, a raffle with some amazing prizes for climbers and non-climbers alike, music, climbing, all the things you have come to love from Touchstone Climbing comps. all the proceeds/donations go to helping this little girl get back to playing frisbee. We hope to see you there!!!
Labels: climbing, community, comps, staff
SCS stops by the DRG...Next stop GWPC

This past Saturday Diablo Rock Gym hosted a local red point rope climbing competition as part of the USA Climbing Sport Climbing Series. It was a window into the future of climbing with most of the 60 competitors under the age of 19 and as young as 8 years old. To view results please visit the
competition page and to see photos visit
the online gallery. Wish them all luck for the duration of the season and at the upcoming Northern California Regional On-sight competition on May 17th at the Great Western Power Company.
Labels: comps, concord, Diablo Rock Gym, kids
TRS Wants YOU!!!

It is once again time to get out your rope, tie in and climb. Touchstone Climbing is pleased to bring back the Touchstone Roped Series for its third year. This will be a series of five Roped Climbing comps that will be held on Friday evenings, one at all five of the Touchstone locations. All events will include a
red point roped comp as well as refreshments, games and prizes. Points will be awarded for each comp with overall winners being announced after the final comp. The first event will be held Touchstone's newest gym, the Great Western Power Co. in Oakland on May 16th. There will be a comp each month for the following five months, with the finale coming in September at Mission Cliffs in San Francisco.
May 16th G.W.P.CJune 13th Diablo Rock GymJuly 11th Berkeley IronworksAugust 22nd Sacramento PipeworksSeptember 26th Mission Cliffs
All comps will be from 6pm to 10pm and FREE FOR MEMBERS!
Labels: Berkeley Ironworks, climbing, comps, concord, Diablo Rock Gym, Great Western Power Co., mission cliffs, oakland, Sacramento Pipeworks, Touchstone Roped Series
TBS3 finale @ Berkeley Ironworks

Berkeley Ironworks will be hosting the TBS3 Finale on Friday April 4th starting @ 6pm. This is your last chance to rack up points for the TBS3 series as series winners will be announced after the comp.
Never tried a Touchstone Bouldering Series comp? Well, it more fun that you might think since it's more about fun than competition. The entire bouldering area (plus a little more) will be set with all new problems to test your mettle. When you are too tired to climb anymore, we will have beer, beverages & pizza to finish off the night. But don't leave too early because we will have a prize raffle at the end. See you there!
Labels: Berkeley Ironworks, comps
One Last Comp at Class 5

Class 5 will be hosting the next TBS3 comp on Friday, February 29th. Prepare for amazing bouldering, a DJ, food, drink, twister and a limbo contest!
Friday Februray 29th, 6-10pm
Free for Members
This will be the last comp at this location for Class 5.
On February 12, our landlord for Class 5 notified us that we have 60 days to vacate the premises. This is devastating news to all of us at Touchstone Climbing. We have been committed to providing San Rafael and all of Marin County with a high quality rock climbing facility. While we have been actively looking and will continue to look for a replacement facility in Marin, we have not at this time found a suitable building for our unique needs.
We are sad to announce that we will be closing Class 5 on March 31st, 2008. So come on down and enjoying at climbing at Class 5, have some fun and pull down hard!
Labels: class 5, climbing, comps, event
TBS3 Rocked the House at MC

Mission Cliffs hosted the largest comp of the series with over 250 competitors participating at the TBS3 comp on Friday, February 8th. Incredible bouldering problems were set in the bouldering area, in addition to a number of problems that were set downstairs on the main floor. Be sure to check out the results page at
http://touchstoneclimbing.com/comps.html.Highlights of the evening included guest DJ’s Tony and Keith, bouldering the party room table, and the consumption of over 60 XL Pizzas! Whoa!
Big thanks to everyone for your continued support for this growing series.
Let’s continue to break new records! Two more comps to go, we will see you at Class 5 on Friday, February 29th from 6-10pm.
Check out our photos
Touchstone Gallery. More to come….
Labels: climbing, comps, mission cliffs
Oakland TBS3: Fun as Always

The fourth stop on the TBS3 didn't disappoint. Outstanding boulder problems, a good turnout and plenty of beer, soda and pizza made for an excellent night out. Many of the participants commented on the superiority of the course setting and the mellow vibe before thanking staff for putting on such a great party. With 150 competitors, there was lots of excitement and energy.
Natasha Barnes handily won the Women's Advanced category and Gregor Peirce, yet again topped the Men's Advanced. You can see pictures of the comp in the
Touchstone Gallery and your
score for the series HERE as well as your score from the
GWPC comp HERE. Thanks again for the incredible work by the course setters and to Metolius for providing some awesome raffle prizes.
See you next month at Class 5 and Mission Cliffs!Photo: Natasha Barnes exhibiting her fingers of steel.Labels: climbing, comps, Great Western Power Co., oakland
TBS Stops in Oakland
In January, the TBS3 makes its first stop ever to the new Great Western Power Company. Come by for a fun community event that will include great bouldering, pizza, beverages and a chance to win some cool raffle prizes from Metolius. PLUS, everyone competing in their FIRST comp of the series will receive the best boars hair brush available; perfect for cleaning holds on your latest sick project. Registration will begin at 5:30pm and the comp starts at 6pm sharp.
Please note: In order to make the boulder problems the best ever, the bouldering area at GWPC will be closed starting TODAY, Tuesday the 8th until the comp starts on Friday the 11th at 6PM.Labels: climbing, comps, Great Western Power Co., oakland
TBS Hits Sac

The third of seven stops for Touchstones Bouldering Series 3 was a big hit for boulderers of all abilities. Boasting over 60 problems ranging from V-0 to V-11, TBS 3 was held at Sacramento Pipeworks on Friday December 14th, with more than 125 people in attendance. Andres, who doubles as Pipeworks head route setter by day, played DJ - keeping energy high and the crowd in the groove. Pictures can be seen in the
online gallery.Results are posted on our competitions page:
http://touchstoneclimbing.com/comps.htmlSideshows included a brilliant slack line competition that produced eye-popping tricks, as well as a donut eating contest that made the crowd roar! See you all at Great Western Power Company on January 11th as TBS3 will continue into the new year.
Labels: climbing, comps, Sacramento Pipeworks
TBS3 Photos Now Up

Photos of TBS3 competition held at Touchstone San Jose on November 16th can now be viewed in the
Touchstone Gallery. Touchstone San Jose blew up the South Bay’s bouldering scene with a hair under 200 competitors, and well over 50 spectators! Fat Tire flowed from the tap while With DJ’s Tony and Keith rocked the house with their set of funky and tech house, jungle, drum-&-bass, hip-hop, and some good old rock’n roll to keep the community climbing strong. Results can be viewed on Touchstone’s competition page.
To all those who came out to compete, spectate, and support the best indoor bouldering in the South Bay to make it Touchstone San Jose’s biggest competition yet, thank you! See you all in Pipeworks on December 14th!
Labels: climbing, comps, san jose