Meet An OGExpert: Katie Monacella
Lindsey Garland
What’s an OGExpert? They’re the folks that huff and puff alongside you in the skin track, give you a yell from the lift, move that pad for you at the climbing gym, share their granola at the summit, or help you change a flat tire at the bike trail head. They’re us. We’ve done it all, and used pretty much every kind of gear along the way. We live, breathe, and recreate with the community.
NAME
Katie Monacella - they/them
AGE
23
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
Northern Virginia
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING AT OUTDOOR GEAR EXCHANGE?
I've worked here for nine months!
WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT OGE?
I'm a sales associate
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO VERMONT?
I came here for school five years ago and now that I've gotten to know the Green Mountains it's hard to leave. My grandma lives in Warren and I grew up learning to ski at Sugarbush, so UVM was an easy sell for me. I feel so grateful to call this place home!
WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER YOUR AREA OF OUTDOOR EXPERTISE?
I'm a big skier! I started learning to ski when I was 2 years old and my first ever job was as a ski instructor at my home mountain, Whitetail, in Pennsylvania. I was really lucky to be able to get into touring this past season and am starting to learn even more about that on top of my love for alpine.
FAVORITE PIECE OF GEAR?
My ski touring setup, I scraped it together with a combo of used gear and any good deals I could find and was so stoked that I was able to finally make it work. I've wanted to get into touring for a long time and had so much fun exploring Vermont's backcountry last winter.
TELL US A FUN FACT ABOUT YOURSELF!
I did a lot of entomology research in college and am a big fan of bugs! When I'm not at OGE I help monitor for introduced species with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture.
