‘This Is the Best. I’ve Tried Everything’: Tech Execs on the Ski Gear They Won’t Go Downhill Without
From ski boot wearables to a safer class of helmets, the high-performance gear that tech leaders are taking to the slopes.
For tech’s skiers and snowboarders, it’s the most wonderful time of the year—and also the most decision-packed.
“Every year I feel like I have to pick a religion: either Epic or Ikon,” said Aziz Gilani, managing director at Mercury Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm. For Gilani, choosing between the two reigning U.S. ski resort empires for his seasonal pass is just the first station of the cross he must pass through. (This year, he’s going with Ikon, because he’s spending New Year’s at Deer Valley Resort, Utah, and part of January in Zermatt, Switzerland.) “We had one friend who went the wrong way on that last year, and that was a real bummer,” he said. “We’d be like, ‘Oh, man, we’re all at Park City, but you can’t come.’”
Next, he has to figure out which gear he wants to upgrade. As Silicon Valley’s snow bunnies know all too well, there’s always some piece of equipment you want to refresh. We called up a few slope-addicted founders and investors to ask for their suggestions on the best high-tech winter sports gear of the season. They pinged us back from the mountains of Deer Valley and Lake Tahoe, sharing where to find the warmest outerwear, zippiest boards and most comfortable footwear.