Trip leaders who work for Santa Barbara Adventure Company are truly special people. We hire only the top 10% of all applicants who apply. Because the Santa Barbara area is so beautiful, and our trips sound more like fun than work, we find ourselves with piles of applications. We are fortunate that we draw experienced guides from a variety of interesting leadership backgrounds: Outward Bound instructors, NOLS course graduates, river guides, sea kayaking guides, professional mountaineers, environmental educators, teachers, experienced surfing instructors and teambuilding facilitators.

Most of our staff members were raised in the Santa Barbara area, offering local insight on secret spots and little known lore and history. All trip leaders and assistant guides are CPR and First Aid certified—many have earned EMT, Wilderness First Responder, and Lifeguard certifications—and our rockclimbing instructors boast American Mountain Guide Association certification as well.

Guide training: Our leaders are constantly learning and perfecting the skills necessary to lead great trips. We offer hundreds of hours of training to our guides through Trip Leader mentoring, focused in-services and ongoing staff training sessions for all the activities we offer.

Michael Cohen
Owner/Director/Guide

Born and raised in Santa Barbara, Michael started Santa Barbara Adventure Company in 1998 with the goal of offering local adventures of the highest quality and led by incredible guides. In his 15 years of outdoor leadership experience, Michael has worked as guide and trip leader for several wellknown outfitters in the west and abroad, always returning to his hometown between seasons.

Michael’s past leadership experience includes working as a river guide and trip leader in many of the western United States’ most loved sections of river: Idaho’s Middle Fork and Main Salmon, American, Tuolumne, Rogue and he rowed baggage on the Grand Canyon. He also enjoyed leading multiday self-supported sea kayaking trips in Belize, and spent two winters as a diving instructor and underwater vidoegrapher in the British Virgin Islands. He also worked as a manager for one of California’s largest outdoor education outfitters before opening the doors of his own business, SBACo (Santa Barbara Adventure Company).

“I really just wanted to show my guests this incredible and unique section of our country. Ever since I was kid I have been running in the creeks and playing in the ocean here in Santa Barbara. As I worked as a guide in equally beautiful places, I kept coming home to recharge and realized there is so much to offer travelers here as well. SBACo’s continued success comes from word of mouth and return clients. Our guides bring a huge component to the trips with their personalities, backgrounds and field experience. ‘You can always take the guide from the river but you can never take the river from the guide.”

Name: Matthew Fienup
Age: 34
Years with SBACo: 5+

Education: Brooks Institute of Photography, Associate's Degree (Summa cum Laude)
Woodbury University, Bachelor's of Science (Magna cum Laude)

Leadership Background and Experience: AMGA certified, 1999 and 2004
Level I Avalanche certified, National Outdoor Leadership School,1998
Level II Avalanche certified, American Avalanche Institute (AAI), 1999
Level III Avalanche certified, AAI, 2000
Level III Avalanche for Mountain Guides (real-time forecasting) certified, AAI, 2001

Favorite Climbing Routes: “Wings & Stings” (5.7), Hammer Dome, Central Sierra; “Anti-Jello Crack” (5.10a), Dome Rock, Southern Sierra; “Coarse & Buggy” (5.11b), Joshua Tree National Park

Favorite Adventure Trip: Any time I’m on my telemark skis in the winter backcountry.

Favorite Piece of Gear: K2 World Piste telemark skis; Nikon 17-35mm, f:2.8 lens with D200 body

Other than guiding: Other specialties include California Natural History, adventure photography, gourmet coffee, and backyard astronomy. My photography collection is represented and distributed by World Sports Images, Ltd. (http://www.worldsportsimages.com). I am an enthusiastic member of 1% for the Planet.

Name: Rachel Thurston
Age: 34
Years with SBACo: 3+ But then who's counting-

Education: I'm currently working on my Masters in Writing at the University of Southern California. My long-term goal is to write and photograph travel adventure stories for national magazines. I'd like to eventually teach at the University Level.


Leadership Background and Experience: Immediately after graduation from college, I took an internship at Arches National Park working as an Interpretive Ranger leading hikes through a sandstone labyrinth, giving botany slideshows, and assisting with emergency rescues. The next year, I went to River Guiding School in Coloma, California and began my course of truly working in the outdoors. Over the following years I was a commercial river guide on rivers in California, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah (for Outward Bound).

For the past several years I've been leading Kayaking and Ropes Course Trips for Mike Cohen's Santa Barbara Adventure Company.

Favorite Adventure Trip: My mother and I have been going on a big international trip every year and I have to say that one of the most memorable trips we've ever done was a 13-day trek to the Base Camp of Mt. Everest. Nothing even comes close to the intoxicating fresh of air of the Himalayas.

Other than guiding . . . Besides writing and photography, I'm passionately involved in music. If I'm not talking about travel and the outdoors then you might catch me shamelessly plugging the band I'm in with my buds called "King Bee." We've been together for four years now and it shows. These guys are the most incredible musicians and we have such fun together. Here goes the shameless plug…our website is: www.kingbeehive.net Check it out! :

Favorite piece of gear: That's a hard one. My headlamp is a no-brainer…but if I'm traveling internationally then I have to have my SLR Canon.

Name: Simon O'Brien
Age: 31
Years with SBACo: 3

Education: BA in Geography and Anthropology @UCSB

Favorite Adventure Trip: My favorite adventure trip would have to be trekking in Nepal. I also really enjoy the vastness and colors of the deserts in the South West.

Other than guiding . . . I love running in the creeks, surfing, riding my bike, and making art and building things.

Favorite piece of gear: My favorite peice of gear is my Gymnastik Ball because it improves ballance and strength and is really fun stand on. Everyone should have one!

Name: Dave Rosen.
Age: A proud 39.
Years with SBACo: 2 seasons

Education: SJSU, illustration/graphic design.

Leadership Background & Experience: Skofield Park Nature Camp Counselor-2 years, Peabody School Rec. Director-2 years Kayak, Bike guide SBACo. Surf Instruction SBACo.

Favorite Adventure trip: Costa Rica/Mexico trip 2003, 36 days.

Favorite piece of gear: My longboard.

Name: Jessica Gray
Age: 25
Years with SBACo: I started with SBACO in October, 2005

Education: BA in History, University of California, Santa Barbara

Leadership Background and Experience: For a few years after college, I ran the education department of a state historic park here in Santa Barbara, where I designed educational programs, resources and events for visitors and outside audiences. I’m currently a kickboxing and martial arts instructor, and have a black belt in the Korean art of Hapkido. Most of my outdoor leadership skills, however, have been picked up while working for Santa Barbara Adventure Company.

Favorite Adventure: A few summers ago a friend and I spent six weeks backpacking through Europe. Every day there was an adventure.

Other than Guiding: I like being in the water, training in martial arts, and just about anything that involves being outside. And I’m always up for learning new things…

Favorite Piece of Gear: My surfboard

Name: Erika Lindemann
Age: 29
Education: BA from UC Santa Cruz in Environmental Studies--go Banana Slugs!

Leadership Background and Experience: I've spent the last 5 years working as the Bicycle Coordinator for SBCAG Traffic Solutions where I organized many of our bike to work events such as Bike Week, Bike to Work Day and most recently the Team Bike Challenge. I participated in the year long course "Leadership Santa Barbara County" in 2002 and I also sit on the board of directors for three non-profits--the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, Bikestation Coalition and the Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers. In college I was a back country ranger at Olympic National Park in Washington state for a summer.

Favorite Adventure Trip: Any trip involving the Santa Barbara Channel Islands. Those islands give a last glimpse of what California must have been like hundreds of years ago.

Other than guiding . . . I love to travel and have been lucky to live in Italy for a year and Morocco and Costa Rica for 6 weeks respectively. I'm fascinated by languages and especially enjoy speaking Spanish. Salsa dancing is a new passion and I try to dance at least once a week at a local club called Ruby's.

Favorite piece of gear: One of my quiver of bikes, depending on the occasion (no, that is NOT my bike in the photo!).

Name: Robert Caiza Cordova
Age: 30
Education: I graduated from the University of Azuay-Cuenca (Ecuador) and am currently enrolled in advanced ESL classes at Santa Barbara City College.

Leadership Background and Experience: I gained a lot of guiding experience while working at my family-owned bed and breakfast in my native Ecuador. For over four years I guided hostel guests on weekend hiking and river tours as well as assisting on horseback riding tours. I also worked as a surf instructor for several summers at a little beach town in Ecuador called Montanita.

Favorite Adventure Trip: Camping at Tajiguas (a local surf spot north of Santa Barbara) and waking up as the sun is rising to go surfing.

Other than guiding . . . I love making jewelry and you can find me each Sunday at the Sunday Art Walk at Cabrillo Beach. I also enjoy surfing, biking and hiking. My son Gabriel inspires me and keeps me laughing daily.

Favorite piece of gear: My bike and my surfboard (sorry, I can’t choose one over the other).

Favorite Adventure Trip: An eight-day solo trip to Iceland in June of 2005. Hiking in Skaftaefell National Park overlooking active glaciers and crawling through the rock formations at the Dwimmerborgir was incredible. Spending all that time alone with just myself, God,and nature was truly transformative. Driving alone cross-country to move to California was pretty cool too!

Other than Office Managing: Hiking, mountaineering, rock climbing, cycling and kayaking. I have participated in two Ironman triathlons and hope to do more triathlon in the future. Now that I am living near the ocean, I want to fulfill a lifelong dream and learn to surf. One of my goals is to climb the California Fourteeners. I already have Whitney under my belt, and Shasta will be next.

Favorite Piece of Gear: My Triathlon bike or my hiking boots...how can I choose?