“Work is easy when you create products for the snowsports you love.”
- Klaus Obermeyer
KLAUS OBERMEYER: THE STORY OF A SNOWSPORT PIONEER
Klaus Obermeyer's enthusiasm is contagious, his energy seemingly endless, his optimism without
bounds. To hear him yodel is to experience the depth of his spirit. To watch him ski is to witness
his true love of the sport.
It all began in 1919, in Oberstaufen, Germany, the small Bavarian alpine village in which Klaus was born.
There, his passion for skiing began at the early age of three, when he fashioned a pair of skis from a
wooden citrus crate. Prior to attending aeronautical engineering school, Klaus spent two years working
at Maybach Motorworks. He was also an avid rock climber, as well as a ski racer and ski jumper.
In 1947, Klaus arrived in Aspen, Colorado, where Friedl Pfeiffer had opened the Aspen Ski School. For
the next twelve years, he spent his days working as a ski instructor on Aspen Mountain. At night, he
followed his entrepreneurial spirit.
Sensing that people would spend more time on the slopes if they were warm and comfortable, and had ski
equipment that worked, he set up shop - the original Sport Obermeyer warehouse - in the attic of his home.
There, one of the first of many innovations was born in the form of a down ski parka stitched together
from his goose down comforter. The foundation for Sport Obermeyer was laid.
After that came high-altitude suntan lotion, turtlenecks, nylon windshirts, mirrored sunglasses, the Boot
Fit Press and more. In 1961, the first Sport Obermeyer factory warehouse opened in Aspen, and the
innovations continued with “soft-shell” jackets, double lens goggles, the first waterproof,
breathable fabrics, a built-in ski boot canting system and line after line of high-tech, fashion-conscious
skiwear, the likes of which had never been seen. Innovations continue to this day.
Today, at age 87, Klaus is still at the helm of his family-run business. He's still thinking up new ideas
to keep snowsports’ participants of all ages warm, dry and comfortable. He's still out-skiing skiers
half his age.
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