Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

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Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

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Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

Aaron Cloud jugging up Pitch 2

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Dave Sessions

May 31, 2020

“Touchstone. (DEC 1998)”

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Nearby Photos

Touchstone by me

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

Ron Olevsky on Touchstone Wall, from the Les Ellison archives

Touchstone by me

Marc Jensen leading the eighth pitch.

hanging out on P5

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

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.

Matt and Brian starting the 3rd pitch.

Pitch 2

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

Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

freeing the beautiful p3 finger crack

Dave Sessions on Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

Last few traversing moves to top of P4 (?)

Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

Aaron Cloud jugging up Pitch 2

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

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

Touchstone gets crowded. I came in 3rd place.

Touchstone. (DEC 1998)

Cerberus Gendarme showing access trail and Touchstone Wall

Pitch 3

Switching into climbing shoes before p3

Zion - Touchstone Wall

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

Pitch 3

Lunch on Pitch 5

Matt and Brian on the wide upper pitch. Yellow arrows are the climbers

At the C2 roof crux

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

Perfection of pitch three

P2 - pulling the roof just above the broken pin.

Connor and I on P.3

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

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

The broken pin at the P2 roof.
<br>

<br>
Taken 05/21/17

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

Easy cleaning on p1's bolt ladder

Cleaning p3

Pitch 2

Maryann Loehr on the Touchstone. Photo by Todd Gordon

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

Virgin berth in bigwall bivying on the Virgin birth ledge

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

Great spot for some shut eye and warm beer

going down

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

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

from the bus

High on P2