This post is part of our Faces of Aegis series. We're spotlighting our clients, the people and businesses who are making an impact in our Tahoe-Truckee community and beyond! Read more of our client spotlights here.
Peak Ski Company makes its home in the scenic Rocky Mountain slopes of Bozeman, Montana, a fellow ski community. Cofounded by Bode Miller, an Olympian and world-renowned Alpine skier known for his tenacious drive to get up and try again, Peak Ski Company specializes in ultra-high-performance skis.
4 Questions for Peak Ski Company
What is Peak Ski Company?
Peak Ski opened its doors in April 2022 and immediately differentiated itself with an all-consuming focus on iterating and testing to create some of the highest-performing skis on the market. Their team consists of passionate skiers who are able to offer customers the passionate advice and service that only a fellow enthusiast can offer.
The Montana-based company dedicates itself to innovation, precision, performance, and grit. They entered the '22-'23 season with six different models of their Peak skis available: four front-country options and two side-country.
Who are the founders and leaders of Peak Ski Company?
Peak Ski Company's Chief Innovation Officer is none other than Bode Miller, 6-time Olympic champion, 4-time world champion, and winner of 6 world cup season titles. Along the way, he crashed out more than any other racer, per the Peak Ski website. This willingness to fail and the drive to try again drove his success as a professional athlete and carries over in his work with Peak Ski Company, as they push to create and test and create again, working towards the perfect pair of skis.
Bode has been an innovator from the start - at 17 years old he took a bandsaw to a deep-sidecut snowboard and mounted ski bindings to the resulting planks. The modern sidecut was born. He's been tweaking sidecuts and adjusting flexes to craft-winning skis ever since.
Bode is joined by Andy Wirth, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Peak Ski. Andy has roots right here in Tahoe, having served as President and CEO of Palisades Tahoe (then Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley) for 8 years.
What sets Peak Ski's innovative approach apart?
Peak Skis is set apart by its commitment to testing and retesting its products, dedicated to crafting the perfect ride.
The brand takes a rigorous approach to testing its skis to help prevent confirmation bias - a phenomenon where one interprets evidence as a confirmation of preset beliefs. Because skiers can adapt to the skis they're using, it would be easy to mistakenly assume that they'd already achieved peak performance during the testing phase. To prevent this, their products are tested rigorously against other high-performing skis from prototypes to production.
The secret sauce to their high performance is their "Keyhole Technology." This cutaway in the skis creates an inflection point allowing for forgiving turns and powerful edging. Bode used skis with a cutaway like this to win the GS Crystal Globe.
"I've been testing skis for 22 years. In the past decade, skis have nearly been homogenized. But Peak Skis perform like nothing on the market. The keyhole changes everything." - Marc Peruzzi, Test Director and VP of Product, Peak Ski Company
What's next for Peak Ski Company?
Peak Ski Company is a young brand, having launched in April of 2022, with an adrenaline-filled future ahead of them. This year they unveiled their product lineup for the '22-'23 season, and in August they welcomed Chris Davenport (another world champ) to the team. With such a great team backing the company, we're looking forward to seeing what future innovations hold.
Interested in learning more about Peak Ski Company? Explore their products and processes at peakskis.com.
Want to protect your ski and bike shop with the same level of protection as Peak Ski? Contact Aegis Insurance Markets and let our team of ski shop professionals get you covered. Get a quote today.