74 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} wall as a guest dressed like the superhero approached a climb. They’ve also screened Girl Climber, a documentary about rock climber Emily Harrington’s record-breaking ascent of El Capitan, a sheer granite monolith in Yosemite people will go up and down the walls… But having all these other aspects associated with the gym really brings the place to life.” That said, Hyperion is just as focused on members improving their climbing. To help newcomers find their footing, route setters designed climbs that introduce fundamental techniques. There’s one exercise that forces people to heel hook— that’s when the back of the foot is used to grip a hold rather than its bottom or tip. Another route teaches climbers to drop a knee and pivot their hip closer to the wall, improving stability. A third encourages people to extend their arms on overhangs to ease the strain on them. The position is echoed in a series of paintings hanging on one of the gym’s walls, part of a rotating gallery of work by local climber and artist Drag Me Up the Wall, whom Ali National Park. And last year, Touchstone’s annual climbing competition “Battle of the Bay” moved from its usual host location in San Francisco to Hyperion. Around 1,000 people stopped in throughout the day to climb, eat free food and grab a beer made at Touchstone Climbing’s Sacramento brewery, before gathering under bright lights to watch the competitive finals. A set of bleachers was brought in to accommodate the crowd. “Something that we really like to do with all our events is try to make sure that people are meeting new people and interacting,” explains Ali. “Because with a bouldering gym, you literally can just have a bouldering gym and do nothing. It will exist, and
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