Aspen local Klaus Obermeyer turns 105
Editor’s note: A version of this story appears in this year’s edition of the Winter in Aspen/Snowmass magazine.
Klaus Obermeyer represents the pioneering face — and heart — of skiing. His lifelong passion for the sport led him to innovate much-needed gear during skiing’s infancy. Now, at age 105, his positivity and contributions continue to ripple throughout the industry.
He started skiing on his family’s property at age 3. His father owned a sporting goods store, and, as a child, Obermeyer fashioned his first pair of skis by tying a flexible orange chestnut crate — imported into the store from Italy — to his feet with string.
Born Dec. 2, 1919, in the small Bavarian alpine village of Oberstaufen, Germany, he originally studied aeronautical engineering in Munich before moving to Sun Valley, Idaho, where he sold Bavarian neckties and shoestrings. Shortly thereafter, he became a ski instructor in Aspen, where he realized students didn’t have proper clothing to keep them warm and dry on the mountain. In 1947, he launched Sport Obermeyer, and in 1961, he opened its first warehouse in Aspen.
Though he didn’t invent the parka, the industry credits him for designing more functional and fashionable parkas; he fashioned his first one from down comforters his mother insisted he take to the U.S. to stay warm. He formulated high-elevation sunscreen and was one of the first to offer traditional ski sweaters, seamless turtlenecks, kids “I-Grow” extendable length jackets and pants, and “ski cashmere” knits with a merino wool face and a cashmere back. He also pioneered the flow fit boot, double-prong ski stopper, tapered and dual-tapered aluminum ski pole, mirrored sunglasses, and double lens goggles.
He initially gained momentum by selling Koogie ties, two fluffy yarn pom-pom balls connected by a string. He sold them at Hotel Jerome, ultimately convincing actor Gary Cooper to wear one, and the style took off from there.
One of his favorite features he championed came in the form of the Klaus Stash pocket, which he originally used as a teenager to smuggle sugar and tobacco into resorts by sewing a pocket into his jacket. Now, all Obermeyer jackets feature an inside stash pocket in the back.
“We didn’t start Obermeyer to get rich. We started it because we love skiing. Teaching skiing in Aspen, you could tell what was missing. Aspen has been our laboratory for 75 years. Early, we saw that the skis were too long, the poles were too heavy, there were no sunglasses that worked well, and a sweater wasn’t enough to ski in,” Klaus says in a video. “We saw an opportunity to make the skiing life a better one for the skiers in America who came to Aspen. That’s how our business started: by making these things that worked better and solved problems.”
He recalls how Aspen was nearly deserted after World War II, with plenty of homes selling for $400 when miners left. Yet, he immediately recognized its beauty — and potential.
“It was a ghost town, but then it snowed, and the sun came out the next day. I went up on the mountain, and it was just like skiing on goose feathers. The second day, the same thing happened, and I said, ‘I’m never leaving here. This is the best place in the world for skiing,'” Obermeyer says through email. “There were no parking problems in 1947. We’d park our cars at the Hotel Jerome for the winter and never touch them until the snow melted. That’s where the ski school meeting place was, across from the Hotel Jerome. Aspen started little.”
He continued to carve into the mountain’s “goose feathers” until age 100, adhering to his motto: The longer you ski, the longer you live. To this day, he’s hard-pressed to pick a favorite run — even though Buttermilk named Klaus Way after him. However, he did come to prefer groomed runs.
“It doesn’t matter which mountain it is or which run or what conditions there are. I do not discriminate between them. Some are longer; some are shorter, but they’re all fun. I just love skiing,” he says.
He had to wait until the ripe age of 90 for Aspen Skiing Company to grant him a lifetime pass, along with a 100-year pin, similar to the pins it awards when skiers and riders reach 100 days in one season. When he received the pin, he said: “That is so nice, I think I need to do another 100 years.”
He has eaten healthy throughout his life to remain fit for skiing, and he also swam daily until age 100. Now, he practices yoga and aikido.
He says the secret to life is a positive attitude, which he credits for playing a huge role in his longevity.
“Life is very much like skiing. You apply the extension of energy in skiing, too. You love the mountain. You’re the center of your own universe. You’re given all these choices and opportunities: Where to turn, how fast to go, how to enjoy it,” he says. “You have a positive energy; you cannot fear or have negative energy.”
He extends that love to the environment through the company’s award-winning environmental practices.
“We must step lightly on the planet,” he says. “We are here for only a very short period of time, and it’s not right to destroy something which gives us such great beauty and asks for nothing in return.”
He has designed Obermeyer products with both a long lifecycle and recycling in mind. For example, Thermore and PrimaLoft lines integrate recycled plastic bottles into their design.
This season, the company debuts Blue Thread through its Off Grid collection. While Obermeyer has traditionally focused on resort wear, Off Grid caters to backcountry adventures and features an eco-friendly nylon yard generated from discarded ocean waste, such as fishing nets and oyster rope. The line extends his pioneering steps toward a more sustainable future, with “best-in-class performance that you can feel good about,” according to its marketing material.
Throughout his life, he has earned plenty of awards and accolades, including the National Ski Hall of Fame Medal of Honor, Colorado Ski Hall of Fame, Colorado Business Hall of Fame, and Aspen Chamber Resort Association’s Aspen Business of the Year.
Of course, one of his “personal accolades” are his four kids, who work in every field, from ski instructing to photography — and who have given him plenty of grandkids.
Obermeyer has remained in Aspen since 1947, and, at age 105, he says he wouldn’t do anything differently.
“I’m thrilled to have such a long and positive life,” he says, adding, “Aspen is a phenomenal town. The climate lends itself very well to outdoor sports, in winter and summer. There is always something fabulous to do or experience.”
By: Kimberly NicolettiI The Aspen Times I December 2, 2024