From the Alps to Aspen: how Klaus Obermeyer revolutionised skiing

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From the Alps to Aspen: how Klaus Obermeyer revolutionised skiing

Calling the attention of all adventurous travellers and ski-goers. There’s someone we need to thank.

You may or may not have heard of him, but I’m certain you’ve benefited from his ingenuity.

Every time we glance out of mirrored sunglasses, don a down ski parka, use alpine sunscreen and hit the ski brakes on the slopes, it’s all thanks to Klaus Obermeyer and his innovative problem solving skills.

Obermeyer founded his ski-wear company Obermeyer Sport in 1947 with a simple mission; to make the sport “safer and more fun”. His achievements were and remain to be, revolutionary.

Let’s take a look at the master innovator’s journey from the picturesque ******* town of Oberstaufen to becoming the snowsport king of Aspen.

Obermeyer was born in a small Alpine village located along the Swiss-Austrian border in 1919. It didn’t take him long to realise his path in life was one sprinkled in snow.

He fashioned his first pair of “skis” out of flexible chestnut slats from an orange crate at the ripe age of three and never looked back, becoming a proficient, passionate skier in no time.

Obermeyer went on to graduate from university with a degree in aeronautical engineering and worked for a ******* aviation company.

During World War II, most of his time was spent working on military projects but he soon grew to deplore the oppressive ***** regime, and tried to escape the country by skiing into Switzerland. He was shot and left to **** but thankfully friendly strangers came to his rescue.

Obermeyer immigrated to the US shortly after the war ended and became a ski instructor at a resort in Aspen, Colorado. It was here that he discovered the ski wear was subpar, to say the least.

Recreational skiing wasn’t widely popular until the 1930s. For the first few decades of the 20th century skiers would typically wear woollen outdoor clothing that got wet when they fell into the snow. It was highly impractical and inefficient.

Obermeyer said he would watch guests race to the lodge to warm up rather than hitting the slopes for another round.

Friedl Pfiefer, the Austrian ski racer who hired Obermeyer in Aspen, urged him to utilise his engineering skill-set.

“Klaus you are a ******* engineer, when you are not teaching skiing you should try to make skiing safer and more fun, and so that started Sport Obermeyer,” Obermeyer said in a video celebrating 75 years of the brand.

Just like when he fashioned his first pair of skis at three, Obermeyer flexed his inventive muscles to create a parka out of a down comforter given to him from his mother for his long journey to the US.

Camera IconKlaus Obermeyer with an early down parka. Credit: Obermeyer

He created it to keep his ski students warm on the mountain but soon realised there was a business within his make-do invention. He went on to sell his first parka to friend Gary Cooper.

No other proverb is more fitting to Obermeyer’s legacy and brand philosophy than “necessity is the mother of invention”.

It turns out his ingenious down ski parka was just the beginning, as the *******-********* went on to hatch new designs including mirrored sunglasses, ski brakes, high altitude sunscreen, seamless turtlenecks, double-lens ski goggles, dual-construction ski boots and aluminium poles.

And with the help of his wife Nome, Sport Obermeyer embraced the developments of ski-fashion, releasing a variety of collections throughout the years with vibrant statement colours, unique flattering silhouettes and design-firsts like the one-piece ski suit and high design alpine sweaters.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconButtermilk ****** for Obermeyer, 1968. Credit: Obermeyer

“People wore a lot of crazy things on the mountain while skiing in the old days. It was about being an individual, it was about showing who you were and showing how great you were and what your personality was,” Nome said.

“The business started with one man. It then became the work of his family, and the people who were devoted to following his philosophy.”

Sport Obermeyer’s impact on the ski boot began in 1958 with the introduction of a comfortable cushioned inner-boot made of rubber. He sold it under Obermeyer’s own label Garmisch for $US44.95.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconSan Marco boot by Klaus Obermeyer. Credit: Richard Avedon

Less than a decade later, in 1967, Obermeyer began importing dual-layer San Marco boots (boots with a soft liner inside a plastic shell). Today’s ski boot technology still pulls from the original moulded plastic shells Obermeyer introduced to the States.

To this day, Obermeyer’s passion for snowsports ******** undisputable. He will turn 105 in December, and up until recently, he was skiing every winter.

He is an advocate for keeping active and has revealed in the past his secret to old-age mobility success was skiing and swimming. Even when he was nearing 100, Obermeyer would swim at least half a mile in the pool daily.

Nowadays, it’s more regular swimming to “stretch his body, feel weightless and stay active”.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconKlaus Obermeyer. Credit: Obermeyer

Obermeyer’s children and grandchildren are continuing to carry the family name with pride in the field of snowsports. Granddaughter Laura has forged her own path as a park skier, and many loved ones work within the company.

“When I talk to my Dad about all the inventions he had to make skiing better, he really doesn’t view them as anything other than the ability to have contributed to a sport that he loves. And whether that is the ski stopper or the down jacket or the mirrored sunglasses, for him this was all about trying to share the sport of skiing,” Klaus Obermeyer Jr. said.

Klaus Jr revealed his first childhood memory was skiing with his father, in an article on the Obermeyer website.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconKlaus Obermeyer skiing on Aspen Mountain in the 1950s. Credit: Obermeyer

“He was holding me between his legs. I remember looking at the town of Aspen. He told me the faster we went the ******* my smile got,” he said.

So the next time you disembark a chairlift at the top of a powdery snow-covered mountain and look down the precipitous path, take a moment to think of Klaus Obermeyer.

If it weren’t for him, who knows if you’d be standing there about to experience the thrill of a lifetime, the thrill of his lifetime.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconSki equipment pioneer Klaus Obermeyer celebrating the first snowfall of the season. Credit: Obermeyer

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