Racking up at the hotel with the heater blasting before a winter ascent. (DEC 1998)

All Locations > Utah > Southwest Utah > Zion NP > Cerberus Gendarme > Touchstone Wall (5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a C2)

Racking up at the hotel with the heater blasting before a winter ascent. (DEC 1998)

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Marc after the bolt ladder on the 1st pitch.

freeing the beautiful p3 finger crack

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Dave Sessions

May 31, 2020

“Racking up at the hotel with the heater blasting before a winter ascent. (DEC 1998)”

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Nearby Photos

Jeff Lowe (with Ron Olevsky) on the 30th aniversary ascent of Touchstone, Dec 2006. <br>
Photo by James Tucker, Nikon D200, 12-24mm f4.

Touchstone by me

Ron Olevsky on Touchstone Wall, from the Les Ellison archives

Marc Jensen leading the eighth pitch.

Touchstone by me

Why the portaledge? Well, let's just say we like to hang out.

hanging out on P5

The original "T4" pitch, from the Les Ellison archives.

Touchstone by me

Panorama from bivy ledge

Marc after the bolt ladder on the 1st pitch.

Racking up at the hotel with the heater blasting before a winter ascent. (DEC 1998)

freeing the beautiful p3 finger crack

Scotti to the moon

Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

Dave Sessions on Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

Last few traversing moves to top of P4 (?)

Descent gully rap anchor. Consists of a star drive and a worse-than-it looks drilled angle. These need updating badly.

Perin Blanchard and Lee Jensen on the third pitch of <em>Touchstone</em>.<br>
<br>
Photo by Marc Jensen.

Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

Aaron Cloud jugging up Pitch 2

Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

Matt and Brian starting the 3rd pitch.

Pitch 2

Cerberus Gendarme showing access trail and Touchstone Wall

The pitch off the bivy ledge (Pitch 6). Very sandy start.

Touchstone gets crowded. I came in 3rd place.

Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

Pitch 3

Switching into climbing shoes before p3

From top of 6th pitch looking down at Virgin Berth Bivy and road.

Zion - Touchstone Wall

Pitch 3

Lunch on Pitch 5

P2 - pulling the roof just above the broken pin.

Marc Jensen emerging from the "short and no fun" squeeze bit on the seventh pitch.

Maryann Loehr on the Touchstone. Photo by Todd Gordon

Jared O somewhere on touchstone

P4 mid station anchor, 70m barely makes it from P4 anchor to here, knot the ends. Anchor is 2 drilled angles, 1 sticking an inch out, and 1 loose bolt held together by tat and what looks like old funkness cables and quick links.

Jugging 1st pitch

Sandbox summit pitch

Lee Jensen and Perin Blanchard at the second rap station on the <em>Touchstone</em> descent.<br>
<br>
Photo by Marc Jensen.

Touchstone from the road looking up the treacherously long approach (JK).

Was I off route? This was the upper section of our 5th pitch, which felt harder than freeing the 3rd pitch. This pitch (our 5th) started off a very decent ledge about 15ft off to the left side of the crack for P4. I placed nothing wider than a #2 on P5, mostly .2 to .4s in the crux here

Pitch 2

Connor and I on P.3

Perin Blanchard getting to the just-a-wee-bit awkward fists section on the seventh pitch.<br>
<br>
Photo by Marc Jensen.

Perfection of pitch three

At the C2 roof crux

Virgin berth in bigwall bivying on the Virgin birth ledge

from the bus

Great spot for some shut eye and warm beer

High on P2

'It's bomber', Gear right off the p1 anchor on pitch 2

going down

taking a little time at the crux

Easy cleaning on p1's bolt ladder

Bomber gear on p1

Cleaning p3

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