Sara grew up in Vandalia, Ohio and went to college at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Here she discovered her niche and began working for the Outdoor Pursuit Center at Miami U. With free access to the indoor climbing wall, Sara began to enjoy her new sport. It wasn’t too long before she began driving the 3 or 6 hours to Red River Gorge in Kentucky and New River Gorge in West Virginia to try out some real rock. Her passion for rock climbing began in 1992.
After countless road trips to Hueco Tanks, TX, and thousands of miles logged to climb on the western granite and sandstone, Sara landed in North Conway, New Hampshire, in June 1998, to guide for Eastern Mountain Sports Climbing School. Two years later, Sara passed the AMGA Rock Instructor exam and has been guiding mostly in the New England area ever since. Besides rock climbing, Sara guides ice climbing and mountaineering courses in the winter. She has climbed volcanoes in Mexico and Ecuador, and has climbed several of the glaciated peaks in the western U.S. Within the last eight years, Sara has worked in many capacities for Eastern Mountain Sports including office manager, Teen Adventure Camp coordinator, and obtaining her commercial driver’s license to be a part of a huge EMS mobile marketing campaign!
Sara’s other pursuits include sailing with her father, biking, and trail running; however, nothing can replace the feeling she has when reaching the top of the cliff or peak after a long hard day—it’s one of a kind. The search for this “high” will continue throughout her life.
March 5, 2010 Private Mt. Washignton Ascent "Please forward this to Keith and Sara....thanks for all your help in getting us geared up and then up/down the mountain...
it was great fun and couldn't have had better weather...
Best regards,
Joe"
January 13, 2010 Written by: Dan Pennebacker (EMS Warrington Employee & Climbing Guide)
3 Day Mountaineering Course- North Conway, NH "Peter and George,
Thanks for having us up in North Conway. George, Jen, Ali and myself talked a lot about EMS as a company over the weekend.
We discussed how taking advantage of our employee benefits that come with the job are truly wonderful perks. Participating in the schools is not only fun, but teaches about what EMS promotes. I think that all employees should take part in the schools simply because it adds so much to the experience. Customers can benefit from the employees experience by further promoting the schools.
As far as the course itself, I loved it. Going into the class I felt confident with many of the skills we were about to learn but was excited to learn from other guides different teaching styles.
Day 1- The first day was a lot of ice climbing which I was not expecting. I definitely am hooked on climbing ice now and am looking forward to climbing ice by myself. Conrad was an awesome instructor. His style was different but his character progressed as the days passed. As a guide, I knew most of what Conrad was teaching but listening to someone else teach was awesome. It was truly nice to sit back and enjoy a day of climbing and not be the instructor!
Day 2- Cold, very very cold. I was impressed that even beginners are taken to this day. I climbed with Jen and Conrad on a multipitch ice route. Conrad again explained many new topics. I think that someone who never climbed multi pitch routes would have loved this too. The whole concept is difficult to understand for beginners. Climbing with Conrad was again fun and learning from him and his teaching style was a lot of fun as well.
Day 3- Mt. Washington. I have always wanted to do this climb and was planning on doing it by myself. I am so glad I went with Ethan, Paul and Sara. Ethan's style was a lot different then Conrads but a nice change. The little tips I picked up from Ethan are worth more than reading them in any textbooks. The climb was a success and I came away with a new respect and understanding for mountaineering.
All in all we loved coming up. I wish we could make it mandatory for EMS employees to take classes. Guiding for EMS, I took away a different perspective as compared to other clients. I enjoyed learning how others teach. I enjoyed their different styles as well.
Another thing that I wanted to point out was what George and I talked about. EMS and their brand. Thinking about the trip, I used SOOO much EMS gear and it performed better than I expected. Being an outdoor educator and retailer, I realized the importance of selling the brand of EMS. EMS has a solid brand and I can now take that back to my store and talk withi customers about why EMS products rock.
We are so excited to promote the schools and further my idea towards establishing Warrington as an School Location. I breifly talked with Chris about Kayak School, overnights, and Climbing and he said "Whatever you need, do it." I want to do some work on my own and then meet with Chris (Store Manager), Dave Noonan, and you both to come up with what we can really do in the store visually to get this thing off the ground and successful. I will be working on that in the near future so I hope to talk with you both soon.
Again, thanks to George for letting us stay up there. North Conway is always a good time and I can't wait till my next trip up there!
Dan Pennebacker"
