Crashing Klaus Obermeyer’s 106th Birthday: Meeting the Man Behind the Legendary Brand

I’d never been to a 106th birthday party before. So I was not going to miss Klaus Obermeyer’s — even if that meant crashing it. After all, the man is a legend in the American ski industry. He was responsible for innovating technologies like dual-pane goggle lenses, high-altitude sunscreen, and down parkas. He was one of Aspen’s first ski instructors. His brand (and name) has become synonymous with ski culture over the last 50 years.

Obermeyer’s legacy runs deep, and he’s still giving back. To celebrate his 106th birthday, his brand is fundraising for the nonprofit Protect Winter Foundation. Even at his advanced age, the man is a driving force for good in the industry he helped pioneer.

Naturally, I wanted to wish him a happy birthday. So, on Dec. 2, Klaus’s birthday, I loaded up my truck and made the 45-minute drive to Obermeyer Studios, where the party was taking place. Snow was falling as I drove.

When I arrived, I followed the sounds of Bavarian music through the halls to a room in the back, where a small crowd of people, many bedecked in lederhosen, happily chatted as a band played accordions and brass instruments at the front.

At the center of the action, beaming with a bright smile and surrounded by friends and family, was the man of the hour. Obermeyer was seated, a blanket on his lap, shaking hands, and accepting well-wishes for his birthday. For 106, he looked amazing. A lifetime of skiing has clearly kept him in shape.

Obermeyer only stopped skiing at 102. But if you ask him, he’ll tell you he still skis. Suzan Obermeyer, Klaus’s daughter, said he recently told someone he skis every night in his dreams. “I have the best runs,” he told them. “I go so fast.”

Klaus Obermeyer: A Century of Skiing & A Lifetime Legacy

Skiing has been more than a sport for Obermeyer. He grew up in the German Alps, where it was his daily transportation in the winter. When Nazi Germany was rising to power, he mounted his skis and made a daring escape in the dead of night. When he arrived in the United States with nothing to his name, it became a source of income and, eventually, an opportunity to build his business.

But more than anything, it’s been a passion he’s pursued his entire life simply because he loves it.

“I’ve skied since I was [three], which was an exception, and it transformed my life,” Obermeyer told GearJunkie. “It’s a wonderful thing … To have the freedom to just be outdoors and learn to love the trees, and the hills, and the little animals, the little weasels that run across the snow. I don’t know, it’s just beautiful and [I] love it.”

When Friedl Pfeiffer started Aspen Ski School in 1947, Obermeyer became an instructor. But he quickly realized that the instructor’s uniform’s knit sweaters weren’t enough to keep them warm. He noticed how standard sunglasses weren’t enough to mitigate the glare and prevent getting sore eyes. And he saw how the sun affected instructors who spent all season exposed to high-altitude UV rays.

So, he started problem-solving. Obermeyer made a small shop in his home in Aspen. There, he designed some of the first iterations of technologies that are still used today. He was the first to create alpine sunscreen. He was the first to design mirrored sunglasses with a vaporized metal coating. Perhaps most famously, he used his bed’s comforter to sew one of the first down parkas, which Aspen Ski School almost immediately adopted.

And that’s barely the tip of the iceberg. Obermeyer also made the first hardshell ski boots with insulated liners, the first turtlenecks with elastic necklines, and nylon windshirts. In his office at Obermeyer Studios sits the first prototype of the two-pronged ski brake system, which remains the design used in almost all ski bindings to this day.

As you might have guessed, his little home shop became the brand that grew into one of the most iconic skiwear companies in the world.

A New Page for Obermeyer (The Brand)

In October, I attended a press event with Obermeyer (the brand). We gathered at the Obermeyer family cabin in Ashcroft, just outside of Aspen, and the then-CEO Kris Kuster gave us a rundown of how Obermeyer plans to rebrand itself to appeal to a new generation of skiers.

“Obermeyer never did anything wrong as a brand,” Kuster said at the event. “It just fell asleep. Now we want to wake it up.”

To do that, Kuster mentioned bringing on outdoor photographer Alex Strohl, who has worked with clients such as Prada and Avant. Obermeyer is partnering with Share Winter Foundation, which works with SOS Outreach, helping to get kids on snow who might otherwise not have the opportunity. It’s donating youth apparel to the program to provide skiwear for those who don’t yet have it.

And, of course, Obermeyer said it plans on redesigning its product line. The brand has brought on new, younger designers to make apparel that appeals to a younger customer, in a wider range of sizes, with more modern colorways and fits.

“I think we have to overhaul our line,” Kuster said. It won’t happen overnight, he explained, as there are a lot of traditional consumers that Obermeyer wants to bring with it into its next chapter. But it is coming, Kuster assured.

As part of the rebrand announcement, that night we attended a film premiere for TGR’s new ski movie, Pressure Drop. Obermeyer hosted the afterparty, and it was the first time the brand’s banner had been hoisted at an Aspen event in over a decade.

Editor’s note: Since we spoke with Kuster, he has parted ways with Obermeyer and was replaced as the brand’s CEO by Garrett Waldron.

Donating Sales to Protect Winter Foundation

To celebrate his 106th birthday, Obermeyer has pledged to donate 6% of all sales on Dec. 6, 2025, to Protect Winter Foundation. The nonprofit organization funds recreational, youth learn-to-ski, and snowboard programs nationwide. Its goal aligns with Klaus’s — to share winter sports with the next generation. As Obermeyer put it, “A shared pleasure is twice the pleasure.”

So, if you’re keen to ski or ride in Obermeyer gear this season, Dec. 6 is the day to make your purchases. Not only can you get your hands on apparel from a legacy brand with an amazing history, but it’s also a chance to help pay it forward for young skiers and riders.

“Skiing is the gift of freedom and something important to share,” Obermeyer said. “Our company was created for that reason.”

At the end of his birthday celebration, I got to shake Obermeyer’s hand and wish him a happy 106th, as people trickled out. “See you for 107,” someone said as they left.

Obermeyer chuckled. “One year at a time,” he said quietly, flashing that bright smile again.