Kudos to Klaus

One of the unanticipated delights in writing for this blog is the opportunity to dig a bit deeper into subjects of personal interest, for example, the article – A ski industry icon attends his 100th birthday party – in our local paper, The Park Record, caught my interest, perhaps my motivation was that my father-in-law will soon be turning 100 and we are in the midst of planning his celebration. I read the article with keen interest and was thrilled when a Google search turned up a treasure trove of information.

Klaus Obermeyer is an inspirational character. To my surprise, Klaus is credited with designing the first puffy down jacket (out of a down comforter that his mother made for him), an article of clothing that is a must have for everyone who lives north of the Mason-Dixon Line.  He also invented the nylon wind shirt (a must have for a Senior Ripper when we were in our teens), high altitude sun lotion (something we all should have used), mirrored sunglasses (so cool), and dual layered ski boots (we still remember what a pain in the neck it was to tie those things!). For these achievements and many others, Klaus is a member of the National Ski Hall of Fame.

While Klaus’ clever designs impressed me, it is his attitude that won my heart. His son, Wally, credits his longevity to three major qualities. First, he has surrounded himself with people he loves: his family, his friends, and his employees at Sport Obermeyer. Secondly, he is more mission-minded than money-minded – Sport Obermeyer is not a luxury brand; instead it produces practical clothes for every-day people, i.e. my go-to black ski pants are made Obermeyer. Lastly, he loves where he lives and tries to make every day a powder day!

We Senior Rippers can benefit from that approach, and we try to every day.

How does he really do it? Well, an apple a day keeps the doctor away…Klaus enjoys the produce of his own apple orchard. He also swims daily and practices Akido, a martial art that focuses on mindfulness. Others believe that it is his regular yodeling that gives him his super power!

So what’s next for this centenarian? His goal is to still be skiing at age 103 so that he will have a full 100 years of skiing under his belt. I, for one, am ready to model myself after this clever character. Who inspires you? Please do share.