When it comes to delivering adventure, you will only go as far as your body allows. The challenge for many of us is that in our quest for adventure we can neglect our own self care.

When this happens our performance can decline, our decision-making abilities can be compromised, and we are more prone to making mistakes that can lead to misadventure. This makes the ability to effectively manage self care an essential adventure skill.

One person that knows this all too well is Sarah Janin. Sarah is a type 1 insulin dependent diabetic who guides split boarding, skiing, rock and alpine climbing. Sarah is on the final leg of working towards becoming the first IFMGA certified Mountain Guide who has type 1 diabetes. Based in Boulder Colorado, Sarah currently works as a full-time guide and one of the head guides at the Colorado Mountain School.

As someone who didn’t start rock climbing until she was in her mid-thirties, Sarah is well aware of the importance of self-care. Her dedication to self-care allowed her to pursue a guiding designation in her forties when most people start down this path in their twenties. Being diabetic, failing to practice effective self-care while leading such an active life can literally lead to fatal consequences.

In this discussion, we discuss what it takes to manage our self care and why it’s so hard to do it well. Sarah gives us an extremely candid account of what it takes to manage our self-care as leaders and how to manage it for others. She also gives us a unique insight into the life of someone who delivers adventure as an insulin dependent diabetic.

Key Takeaways

It takes discipline: This includes being diligent about preparing ourselves beforehand and following up with recovery such as stretching, strengthening and rehabilitative care such as physiotherapy afterwards.

The importance of pacing: Sarah touched on the value of taking breaks to recharge, taking rest days, and varying activity. Taking rest days and doing different activity can keep us fresh and give different muscles a break while others get a workout.

Being vigilante: This includes staying situationally aware of ourselves and the people we might be leading. This may require us to check in with people and ourselves regularly.

Educating ourselves and others: On what to look for to keep everyone operating at their peak. This can add value to the overall experience. Who doesn’t like to learn how to perform better?

Scaling back to pace energy is not a loss, it’s a win: It can allow us to perform better, enjoy what we are doing and ultimately to go farther. As the saying goes, Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

Guest Bio

Sarah Janin is a full-time mountain guide at Colorado Mountain School located in Boulder Colorado. She is the only full-time female guide at this time and one of their head guides. Sarah became one of the first certified female splitboard guides in America this March of 2024 making history.

Sarah is on the AMGA track with one more exam to complete this summer. Her goal is to become the 19th certified female American Mountain Guide. Sarah will then have to pass a ski movement test in order to become IFMGA certified which will be her focus this winter.

Sarah has worked as a guide for a decade after getting to experience a few different careers before settling on her true passion. Sarah is also a type 1 insulin dependent diabetic and has been for over 43 years. She will potentially become the first diabetic certified guide this year.

Guest Links

Colorado Mountain School: https://coloradomountainschool.com/guide/sarah-janin/

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