Touchstone Routesetters

Hey Mission Cliffs climbers, we have a fun, funky, stemmy, easier-facing-out (!!) feature climb for you!

Give it a go and vote on what you think the grade is! Grade vote sheet is on the wall next to the climb ✅

Someone asked us what the hardest part about routesetting is. Here’s a few of our setters giving their answers (with a few silly moments thrown in!)

It’s been a while and there are a lot of new faces since we’ve asked y’all what you’d like to see on this page, so it’s time for another round!

We want this page to be a place to keep on top of the setting happening in our gyms, but also a spot to learn about routesetting and how we do this ridiculous and awesome job!

So what do you want to know about routesetting? What do you want to learn about on this page? What setting mysteries should we demystify?

Drop a comment below or send us a DM! We will put all your answers in a spreadsheet 🤓 and use it to inform future content!

Shenanigans were had at Dogpatch today…

✨ THIS FRIDAY ✨

Touchstone Routesetters 🤝 SF Design Week

Part craft, part performance design, part puzzle-making — How does routesetting fit into design and what can the disciplines learn from each other?

Through hands-on exploration, learn how route setters design for a multitude of bodies and abilities. Walk away with a deeper understanding of what it means to design for the full range of human experience. ✨ Route setting’s hands-on approach to user diversity, iterative making, and embodied problem solving offers every designer a new way of thinking about how people move through, interact with, and are changed by the things we make.

📆 June 5, 2026
⏰ 3:30pm - 6:00pm
📍 Dogpatch Boulders, San Francisco

Register at the link in the bio!

     

A common question we get as setters is how we get inspiration for our climbs, and if we take inspiration from outdoor climbs. The answer is, sometimes!

Those of us who frequently climb outdoors certainly get ideas from what we find in nature, which may show up in our choices of the style of the climb or certain unique moves. Less frequently, we decide to replicate an entire climb!

In this case, two of us collaborated to create a replica of a boulder called Molly, which is in the Sads outside Bishop, CA. We chose this climb because the height and angle of the wall was very similar, and we knew we had the holds available that we needed for the movement (specifically those pockets!).

We’re very pleased with how it turned out! It took watching a lot of different beta videos to try to get the nuances down, but in the end our climb ended up quite accurate, including the many different beta options for the beginning!

The Molly replica is still up at , if you want to give it a go! If you’ve climbed the real boulder, let us know how you think the two compare.

There’s a very special climb up at right now!

Last summer Bay Area local .herson put up the first ascent of Drifter’s Escape in Squamish, the world’s first 5.15a trad climb, and therefore hardest trad climb in the world currently!

Last week he worked with our setter CDC to put up a replica of the crux section of the climb at Hyperion. While the replica is easier than the actual climb, he says the movement is remarkably accurate! So if you’re one for ringlocks and terribly blocked holds, get your but over there and give it a go!

First Open rope competition in a decade!!
Huge thank you to everyone who made Battle of the Bay, Ropes Edition a huge success!

We had a very big week getting ready for the competition. Balancing the time and resources for citizens and open rounds for ropes was a new challenge for all of us, and it really hit home how important it is for everyone to work as a cohesive team. Because when there are so many things happening all at once, you really need to be confident that everyone is on the same page! It was an exhausting week, but we are so pleased with how it all turned out. Lots of very good climbs up on the walls, and the finals for the open competition was a fantastic show!

All the competition routes will stay up for a while, so make sure to get to Mission Cliffs and check them out!

Are you ready for March Madness at ?? 🏀🏀🏀

Each color has its own no-hands position. Can you find it??? Knee-bars, bat hangs, foot-jams, straddles - they’re all there!
Once you find it, get your buddy to pass you the ball, and try to make the shot!

Coincidentally, are you ready for some brand new holds at for Battle of the Bay??