Meet Sarah Carriere, an outdoor enthusiast, dedicated mentor, and proud SCARPA Athlete Mentorship Initiative recipient. With a passion for skiing, trail running, and rock climbing, she thrives in the mountains and believes in the power of mentorship to build confidence and community. Sarah shares her journey of embracing imperfection in the outdoors.
Applications for Mountain Mentors climbing and hiking program are open April 1-20, 2025.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am a 42-year-old cis, straight woman with Indian heritage, living and recreating on the beautiful lands of the Squamish Nation. I moved to New Zealand when I was 5, and then moved to Canada in my mid-20's.
If I had the ability to step away from Mon-Fri work I would be skiing all year round, while running my own older cat sanctuary with my hubby. During the rest of the year, you will find me trail running (plodding, let's be real), open water and river SUP'ing, and rock climbing. I enjoy being an average athlete in many sports.
I am also a SCARPA Athlete Mentorship Initiative recipient!
This winter I am a backcountry ski mentor. Previously, I have been a summer hiking mentor and scrambling mentee.
Can you share a memorable moment or breakthrough you’ve had with a mentee?
The most memorable moments with my mentee was seeing her link turns in a mogul field (she had struggled with this before), and then coming down her first steep black diamond run. She wanted to focus on the fundamentals of skiing before heading into the backcountry and so we worked on movements that she wanted to improve on.
It was awesome seeing the sparkle in her eyes and hearing the squeal when she saw improvement. But what was cool in these moments was me learning how she took complexity and met it with grace and confidence. That was beautiful to watch!
How has being a mentor positively impacted your life?
It's allowed me to not only mentor with a lot of humility (I am very honest with something that may also be a struggle for me to accomplish), but it's allowed me to place 'imposter syndrome' in the corner and enjoy the lightness that comes with this.
What would you say to someone unsure about applying to Mountain Mentors as a mentor?
For those thinking of becoming a mentor: Spend time writing down what skills and knowledge you have (technical and non-technical skills), how you've been able to practice them in your favourite sport, and how you think you could share this knowledge with others. That is enough to move forward with an application.
Supremacist ways of thinking tell us that we have to be perfect and expert at something in order to teach. Combat this with demonstrating to yourself that you do have knowledge and skills to share that contribute to the growth of folks.
