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Elisa Varlotta

Elisa Varlotta

Climbing

Pronouns: September 14, 1997

Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA

Current Location: Came back from Colombia, figuring out next steps

Favorite Zone: New River Gorge / Red Rock / La Mojarra, Colombia

Proudest Achievement: Fulbright Scholar in Colombia while also sending first 5.13

Favorite Advocacy Org: Escalando Fronteras

Biography

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Hi! I’m Elisa Varlotta and I am a Latina climber, yoga instructor, and educator. Born to a mother from Costa Rica and a father from the US, I was raised at the interface of two cultures and because of this I have a deep appreciation for new cultures/new people but specifically the Latinx community. For this reason, after having graduated college in 2020, I completed a Fulbright grant in Bucaramanga, Colombia as an English Teaching Assistant. Not only did I learn a lot in the educational world in Colombia, but my love for climbing grew. My dad is an avid rock climber and my family would take summer road trips in our Westfalia, adventuring and climbing. My dad exposed me to this beautiful activity and these past two years, I have completely embraced climbing as my passion. Just us and the rock; Mother Nature at its finest. A delicate balance between grace and power, between connectedness and detachment, between fear and confidence, between failure and success, between us and our ego. I love it so much and hope to combine my work in creating bilateral relationships/exchanges and the outdoors together-creating more of an inclusive space.

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ATHLETE MENTORSHIP INITATIVE

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The SCARPA Athlete Mentorship Initiative presented by Mountain Hardwear has been created to connect and engage the SCARPA and Mountain Hardwear Athlete teams with accomplished athletes from historically marginalized communities aspiring to take their sport or career to the next level. The mission of this program is to connect mentors with mentees focused on the sports we serve to provide participants with opportunities for personal, athletic and career development with the goal of helping to create a more inclusive and diverse community of athletes.

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Q & A

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  1. Who were your influences early in life?: My parents. My dad has taught me to work hard, adventure, and go after everything with full intention. My mom has shown me the power of peace and strength within (having moved to the US when she was just 25).
  2. What draws you to the outdoors?: I love connecting with nature, with others, with myself. This is what creates the most beautiful experiences.
  3. What’s your dream trip or expedition?: I want to travel across Latin America, climbing and sharing with the Latinx community.
  4. What makes a good skiing/climbing/running/hiking partner?: The energy! It’s all about being comfortable/having fun. Also finding the right balance because I like when someone helps push me, mentally and physically, but knows that really, we are just climbing for the love of it.
  5. How are you going to pass on what you learn in the mentorship program to others?: So many ideas. Having just graduated college recently, I am trying to figure out my next steps. I would love to do meaningful work within the climbing community-climbing/yoga workshops for marginalized communities, grow the Latinx climbing community.