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This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "Touchstone Climbing" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2026) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Touchstone Climbing is an American indoor climbing gym company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1995 by Mark and Debra Melvin, it operates 18 climbing and fitness facilities throughout California, making it the largest indoor climbing company in the state. The company is privately held and structured as a public benefit corporation.^[1]

Touchstone Climbing was conceived in 1994 by Mark and Debra Melvin, who sought to bring indoor rock climbing to San Francisco. The Melvins, who had met while bouldering at Indian Rock in Berkeley in the late 1970s, raised start-up capital from several dozen climber investors before opening Mission Cliffs, their first gym, in the Mission District of San Francisco in 1995.^[2] Within a month of opening, Mission Cliffs hosted the Sport Climbing National Championship, drawing national attention to the facility.

Touchstone acquired Class 5, a small climbing gym in San Rafael, in 1996, though the lease on that building was eventually lost in 2008. In 1997, the company acquired CityRock of Emeryville, one of the first indoor climbing gyms in the United States. In 2000, Touchstone opened Berkeley Ironworks, a significantly larger facility in Berkeley featuring a dedicated fitness area, yoga studio, and indoor cycling room, which set a new standard for the climbing gym industry.^[3]

Sacramento Pipeworks opened in a historic building north of downtown Sacramento in 2001, integrating fitness programming with climbing terrain. In 2003, Touchstone expanded further into the East Bay with Diablo Rock Gym in Concord. In 2004, the company acquired Stone Age Climbing, a manufacturer of climbing holds and accessories.

Touchstone opened MetalMark in Fresno in 2011, its first purpose-built gym designed from the ground up. In 2012, The Studio Climbing opened in San Jose, housed inside a converted movie theater. In 2013, Touchstone opened Dogpatch Boulders in San Francisco, which was at the time of opening the largest bouldering gym in the United States, and expanded into Los Angeles with LA Boulders, the company's first Southern California location.^[4]

Southern California expansion continued with the opening of Cliffs of Id in Culver City (2015), Hollywood Boulders in Hollywood (2016), and Verdigo Boulders in Burbank (2018). In 2018, Touchstone purchased the historic Oaks Theatre on Solano Avenue in North Berkeley, a single-screen movie theater built in 1925 and closed in 2011, converting it into a bouldering facility while preserving its landmark architectural features.^[5]

In May 2025, Touchstone opened Hyperion in Redwood City, its 18th facility, shortly before the company celebrated its 30th anniversary.^[6]

In October 2023, employees at Touchstone's Hollywood Boulders location staged a walkout after management did not disclose a detailed threat of violence directed at the facility. In January 2024, workers at all five Southern California Touchstone locations formally filed for union recognition with management, organizing with Workers United, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. On March 11, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board certified the election result, with 54 votes in favor of unionization and 46 against, making the five Southern California gyms the first climbing facilities in California to unionize.^[7][8]

Bargaining for a first contract began in September 2024. In September 2025, workers at four additional Touchstone locations in Northern California voted to unionize, including Mission Cliffs and Dogpatch Boulders in San Francisco, The Studio in San Jose, and Diablo Rock Gym in Concord.^[9]

Touchstone Climbing is privately owned by Mark and Debra Melvin and operates as a public benefit corporation under California law. The company states that it does not accept venture capital funding. As of 2026, it operates 18 facilities across the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Fresno, and Los Angeles metropolitan areas, with approximately 30,000 members and over 1.5 million visitor sessions annually.^[10]

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