 Sarah Ballantine has always been passionate about the outdoors. After graduating from the University of Colorado in 1982, she joined Outward Bound and taught mountaineering courses across Colorado. She joined the U.S. Professional Ski Patrol in 1985 and during the summer months she traded in her skis for her mountain bike. This began a memorable 12-year racing career. During the next six years, she won the Norba World Champion title three times from 1987 to 1989 and was national champion as a member of the national mountain bike team. She was also first overall in the European World Championships in 1988 and 1989. Sarah became the first American woman to race full-time in Europe in 1990 and she finished first overall in the Grundig Mountain Biking World Cup in 1990 and 1991. In 1992, Sarah was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. After her retirement from full-time mountain bike racing in 1996, Sarah joined Team Veil's Adventure Racing Team and at the Eco Challenge in 1998 in Morocco, Team Veil was the first American team to win a multi-day adventure race in which teams of four compete in such disciplines as whitewater canoeing, sea kayaking, mountaineering, mountain biking, and even camelback riding. What was really neat to meet the top competitors and be actually in the thick of things this year was definitely the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, physically and mentally. In addition to a second Eco Challenge win in New Zealand in 2001, Sarah has climbed Mount McKinley in Alaska, the Eiger in Switzerland, and Mount Cook in New Zealand. From a dominant national and international 12-year mountain bike racing career to team competitions and helping competitors develop their mental toughness while staying healthy, Sarah Ballantine has made her mark in the outdoors that she loves.