We sat down with Sara Safari, 2015 United Nations Global Citizen Recipient and Women's Philanthropist, about her journey from corporate America to finding a greater cause through summiting some of the most difficult mountains in the world.

Today, Sara Safari is a post-graduate student in Leadership and Change, a professor in Electrical Engineering, and the recipient of the United Nations Global Citizen Award in 2015, but a few years ago, she was a typical California woman who hated the cold and had never slept in a tent. She was an electrical engineer at a large corporation.

The Idea to Climb Everest

While at a seminar the speaker suggested everyone in the audience think of something that seemed impossible and commit to doing it. Before she could think it through, she shouted, "I am going to climb Everest!"

Training for Everest

Having never climbed a mountain in her life, Sara knew she needed to start training. So she headed up Mount Baker, alone! She didn't make it to the summit, but she credits this brutally cold night and experience for her realization that she can do and survive difficult things. However, it also revealed she had a lot of work cut out for her to climb Everest.

Empowering Women

During her training period, she was introduced to the founder of Empower Nepali Girls. Upon hearing about the child marriage, human trafficking, and lack of education, she became involved with the organization.

When she first arrived in Nepal to meet the girls, she was awestruck at their reaction about meeting a woman engineer and mesmerized they were at the thought that a woman could possibly climb mountains. Their reaction sparked an idea, that whatever Sara was doing in life or during the climb was going to affect these women in a positive way, expanding what they think is possible for women to achieve.

The First Attempt

In April 2015, halfway up Everest on an ice ladder, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit. Somehow, she made it off that mountain, while many people in the base camp lost their lives that day.

After she was rescued, Sara went to a large city in Nepal and saw firsthand the devastation that earthquake brought upon the city. Her heart broke for the people of Nepal, especially the women and girls she had met. Despite this, their morale and optimism were extremely high the next time she visited them. This led Sara to dedicate her next Everest attempt to Empower Nepali Girls. Not only did she summit Everest, but she continues to push the boundaries of what others think is possible.

Sara Safari Today

Today, Sara is continuing to climb, supporting Empower Nepali Girls, as well as a few others. Her goal is to summit the seven tallest mountains on each continent. So far, she has climbed six of them, the last one, Mount Everest is on her list for 2020.

What Goes into a Pack

Sara shared with us what she packs on her long hikes:

Sara makes her water work harder on her climbs, using our electrolyte hydration mix to make sure she stays properly hydrated for the day ahead. 

And when she feels like her tank is on empty, Sara is a big fan of our energy bars. Her favorite flavors are Mango Almond and Chocolate Walnut.

Sara's Info

• Website: https://www.climbyoureverest.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sara.safari.everest
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/sara.roma.90

"I will be climbing each mountain to bring awareness and funds to amazing organizations who are working to empower women and girls to break the glass ceiling and live fully as they deserve."