Staff and Partners
Kai Watkins
Will Wild
Tino Fiumara
Kai Watkins
Kai has been climbing since Salt Pump opened in July 2015, but has learned a lot since then and is psyched to share that knowledge with anyone and everyone who is psyched to learn! Kai has around eight years of experience teaching and assisting various classes, mostly dance related. As an aspiring travel blogger, photographer, and writer Kai is often taking pictures of our kids programs for Facebook. Kai also heads up our pro shop and retail space, carrying the widest selection of climbing gear in Maine!
Preferred Pronouns: They / them
Tino Fiumara
Although not a native New Englander, Tino has always felt the most at home among the craggy mountains of New Hampshire and the rocky coast of Maine. A self-taught climber, he cultivated his skills on east coast granite before adventuring off to learn the movement taught by climbing on different types of stone. He is inspired to provide memorable experiences for people to broaden their movement patterns, get stronger, and ultimately grow as climbers and people. Whether it’s pulling on rock, duck diving through a wave, or taking in miles on the trail, he’s just happy to be outside and with his family. Every once in a while, you’ll catch him hucking himself around on different stones around the northeast. Don’t hesitate to say hi, buy him an espresso, or ask for a spot; he’s a self-proclaimed amazing spotter.
Preferred Pronouns: He / him
Fun Fact: Tino speaks fluent Italian.
Brittney Robinson
Brittney Robinson
Growing up in Western Maine surrounded by the mountains helped build Brittney's passion for the outdoors. She was first introduced to climbing while attending Lyndon State College in Vermont, where she majored in Mountain Recreation Management with a concentration in Adventure Leadership. She realized quickly that sharing her passion for the outdoors and all it has to offer was something that she wanted in her life permanently. Her experience working with children expands from summer camps to teaching winter ski lessons at her home mountain, Sugarloaf. After graduating, she moved to Southern Maine, where she lives with her partner and their dog named Chester. She's joining the team after having spent the last few years in an office position far from her outdoor passions. She's thrilled to join the Salt Pump community as the new Youth Programs Manager.
Preferred Pronouns: She / her
Fun Fact: Brittney's name was spelled wrong on her birth certificate, and now she just spells it that way because it's easier.
Esther Porr
Zack Sawyer
Zack Sawyer
A native Vermonter and product of a hyper-active youth, Zack Sawyer unfortunately did not discover climbing until he left his beloved New England. With a philosophy degree in hand, he returned north to satisfy both his newfound desire for climbing and friendly people! He is captivated by the beauty and importance of the teacher-student relationship in navigating these worlds and mastering this relationship, no matter how small or peculiar it may be. Zack looks forward to learning all he can from the fascinating Salt Pumpers he is fortunate to interact with each day!
Preferred pronouns: He / him
Fun Fact: Zack used to play defensive end on his high school football team.
Sam Fillinger
Sam Fillinger
Sam Fillinger grew up in Scarborough, and, after attending college out in Montana, he was pulled to return to his home state. He started climbing eight years ago, but originally just bouldered for his first few years because he was too shy to talk to anybody. Eventually, Sam realized that climbers are really friendly and thus he began to expand into rope climbing as well. Sam studied music in college, and in his free time he enjoys playing his classical guitar. Sam also enjoys reading science fiction novels.
Pronouns: He / Him
Fun Fact: Sam's favorite movie is 2001: A Space Odyssey... Ask him about it if you want to hear him talk for over an hour!
Taki Miyamoto
Taki Miyamoto
Taki has alternated living in Japan and the US throughout his life. He first landed in Maine for college, where he was introduced to rock climbing on the gritty urban rocks of Great Falls in Lewiston. He was hooked and continued to look for boulders any chance he got and was a regular at the Maine Rock Gym in Portland.
Since then, Taki has climbed throughout the world, putting up first ascents in Peru, Patagonia, and the Wind River Range of Wyoming, but he has an incredible soft spot for New England climbing. After working as an outdoor educator and then as an attorney for a major law firm in Tokyo and New York for seven years, he moved back to Maine, married his sweetheart, Natalie, and started working on his dream that is Salt Pump Climbing Co. Taki wants Salt Pump to be a place that reflects and celebrates the increasing diversity of the climbing world and is looking forward to climbing with you!
Pronouns: He / Him
Fun Fact: Taki loves cat memes.
Eli Murphy
Eli Murphy
A Local Mainer, Eli began climbing in the Happy Valley region of Pennsylvania where he went to Juniata College. Upon graduation, he returned to the beautiful coast of Maine, where he was situated close enough to both the mountains and the coast to pursue all of his various outdoor activities. As an avid hiker, biker, runner and climber, Eli has found New England to be the perfect place to hone his craft and gear up for whatever comes next. When he’s not at Salt Pump, or at the University of Maine School of Law where he studies, Eli can probably be found outside pursuing his next grand adventure.
Preferred Pronouns: He / him
Fun Fact: Eli Likes to pursue new and exciting recipes like Kung Pao Hot Dogs!
Mark Richey
Mark Richey
Mark Richey has two passions: climbing and wood. As a kid growing up in Reading, MA, in the 1970s, Mark realized woodworking could be his ticket to climbing and traveling the world. In 1983 he and his wife Teresa founded Mark Richey Woodworking, a business they grew into an industry-leading architectural manufacturing firm serving clients such as Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts. In truth, Teresa was often really running the business, so Mark could sneak off to mountain ranges around the globe, ticking off notable first ascents of difficult lines. Mark’s climbing career culminated in 2012, when he was awarded the prestigious Piolet d’Or for making the first ascent of Saser Kangri II, then the second highest unclimbed mountain in the world. When he’s not climbing, Mark is hiking, diving and hanging out with his wife and their daughter Natalia.
Preferred Pronouns: He / him
Fun Fact: Mark is the nephew of Walter Reuther, the famous organized labor leader and civil rights activist.
Freddie Wilkinson
Freddie Wilkinson
From the teahouses of Khumbu Himal to obscure glaciers of the Alaska Range, Freddie is an alpinist known for his infectious energy and original lines of ascent. He graduated with a degree in history from Dartmouth College, though he probably spent more time roaming the White Mountains than he did studying. After school, he fell into the guiding/climbing lifestyle for many years, which afforded him the opportunity to travel and climb extensively in such places as Alaska, Patagonia, Yosemite Valley, India and Nepal. In 2010, he published the narrative non-fiction book “One Mountain Thousand Summits: The Untold Story of Tragedy and True Heroism on K2.” Wilkinson is also a partner guide at Cathedral Mountain Guides, based out of North Conway, New Hampshire. When not writing or away on expeditions, he enjoys amateur lamb-farming with his wife Janet and two kids, Casey and Oscar.
Preferred Pronouns: He / him
Fun Fact: Freddie's visited Nepal 12 times.
Eric Nathanson
Eric Nathanson
Eric grew up right here in Scarborough and remembers when Salt Pump was just a weird spot in the woods! He first started climbing on the MRG youth team in high school. For college Eric attended the University of Puget Sound in Washington state, all the way on the opposite coast. While there he did a variety of things including competing on the college climbing team, leading wilderness trips for the outing club, and learning to swing dance. He even earned a degree! It was something to do with nature, and the economy, and politics, and philosophy. After graduating and a little bit of extra time exploring the West he headed back to Maine to lead wilderness trips and teach environmental education for the Chewonki Foundation. With much excitement and little fanfare he joined the Salt Pump team in late 2018 and is thrilled to continue spreading the love of climbing, especially as part of our kids programs! When not at the gym (whether working or climbing himself), Eric substitute teaches, does a variety of seasonally appropriate outdoorsy things, reads a lot, and gossips with his friends over good food.
Preferred Pronouns: He / him
Fun Fact: Eric lived in a 17’ rowboat for four months with two other people. Why? Ask him!
Mariah Nelson
Mariah Nelson
Mariah Nelson was born and raised in Franklin, Maine, where she grew up in the shadow of Schoodic Mountain. When she was eight years old, Mariah tried rock climbing for the first time on the sea cliffs of Acadia National Park. Eventually, she migrated south to the city of South Portland, where she and her husband are busy raising their two sons, Zack and Ezra. Mariah enjoys photography, hiking in the White Mountains, and cooking vegan style. Her favorite food is probably dairy free chocolate and peanut ice cream.
Preferred Pronouns: She / her
Fun Fact: Mariah has two dogs and she loves dogs so much, she can often be found volunteering at local animal shelters.
