76 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM gym is shoes, chalk and a lesson in how to fall safely. (The trick is to never land on straightened limbs and to keep a slight bend in the knees and elbows when hitting the pad. Rolling backwards cushions the fall even more.) Fresh climbing routes are set every six to eight weeks and the basic equipment is available to rent at the front desk. “We want to be that place where people go regardless of what’s happening in your life,” says Ali, walking past a group of children scrambling up a wall streaked in the same magenta, teal and mustard yellow as the painted handprints. “We want to be that place where people really feel they belong and that’s what’s important to us.” rock out touchstoneclimbing.com met at Pacific Pipes years ago. The current paintings contrast isolated figures, like that of a climber or an angel, against vivid, color-saturated backdrops. The Redwood City facility’s name conveys dual meaning. “Hyperion” is both the tallest tree on Earth—a coastal redwood found in Humboldt County—and the Greek titan of heavenly light and observation. The towering name, which in Greek roughly means “the watcher from above,” was ironically bestowed on a gym with solely short walls. That won’t last long though. An area for climbing with ropes and harnesses, also called top roping, is currently under construction and will open next year. Until then, all a climber needs to get started at the bouldering {due west}
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