The very appeal of adventure is that of managing uncertainty. With today’s limitless supply of information online, how do we develop products for the outdoors that balance the line of inspiration and safety without crossing the threshold of ruining the very essence of adventure itself?

Join a panel of tech startups in the outdoor space alongside outdoor athletes and adventurers to get their take on how we as technologists can build products to balance the needs of both sides of the spectrum.

Panel Participants:

Jayson Simon-Jones, IFMGA & Founder @ Lotus Alpine Adventures
Throughout Jayson’s almost 20 years of mountain guiding he has successfully guided alpine climbing and skiing expeditions throughout the world on 6 of the 7 continents over his career, and during this time was also the Owner / Operator of Crested Butte Mountain Guides from 2007-2014. Jayson can be found splitting his time living and guiding between Crested Butte, Colorado (where he’s been since 1999); and Chamonix France in the Summer months. In addition to mountain guiding, he has had his writing, photography, and expertise published as an ‘industry expert’ in such publications as: The New York Times, The Denver Post, Outside Magazine, Ski Magazine, Climbing Magazine, and Backcountry Magazine.

Matt Doyle - Head of North America @ FATMAP
After spending the better part of a decade in the healthcare industry, Matt Doyle decided to follow his dreams and part ways with his cushy corporate marketing job to create his own ski app. Dubbed “skiGenius”, Doyle set out to build an interactive ski guide app to help skiers plan itineraries based on their abilities and terrain preferences. Shortly after launching the app, Doyle left to join forces with FATMAP to help usher in the next evolution of outdoor mapping. After spending a year leading product development and bringing FATMAP to market here in the US, Doyle now oversees North American operations for FATMAP; managing user acquisition, map production, and product localization initiatives. FATMAP provides outdoor enthusiasts with the most detailed 3D outdoor maps available on the planet. Available in the palm of your hand with expert information from local guides and advanced terrain intelligence tools, FATMAP enables users to seek out adventure like never before.

Tom Robson - Manager of Trail Content @ REI
Tom Robson leads the Trail Content team for the Adventure Projects division of REI, creators of MTB Project, Trail Run Project, Hiking Project, Powder Project, Mountain Project, and REI’s Co-Op Guide to the National Parks app. The content team’s lofty goal is to one day map every sanctioned trail in the United States, following our unique paradigm of crowdsourcing data with a carefully managed quality control process. Tom graduated with a BA in Environmental Studies from Dickinson College, and has been working with maps and GIS technology ever since.

Rob Writz - Founder @ Front Range Ski Mountaineering
Rob’s professional career has focused on using technology to empower and enable new possibilities in smart cities and the environment. He currently directs the product marketing and business operations at AMP Robotics. AMP Robotics has created Cortex, a robotic system that can rapidly pick recyclable materials off a conveyor belt for recovery. This is enabled by state of the art artificial intelligence that is able to peer into the waste stream and identify individual pieces of recoverable material.

He is an avid backcountry skier and snowboarder and over several decades he has skied many of the mountains on Colorado’s Front Range. In 2014 he launched Front Range Ski Mountaineering. This online guidebook describes the vast opportunities for spring ski mountaineering and winter backcountry skiing on the Front Range.

Moderated By Skippy Mesirow
Skippy Mesirow is a CU Grad and a community builder at heart. Captain of the Boulder Freeride Ski Team and 2008 Skier-X National Champion Skippy has been in Aspen for 13 years now. Skippy is the Co Founder & Director of Community Relations for Aspen Entrepreneurs, a RFV non-profit focused on creating the next generation of leaders by investing capital, expertise, and resources to help young entrepreneurs succeed locally in the retail, hospitality and service industries. In addition, Skippy he helped found and was a two term Chair of the Aspen Next Generation Advisory Commission, a city commission dedicated to advancing the policy interests of the 18-40 demographic who live or work in Aspen. He was a founding member of the Aspen City of Wellbeing, a non-profit shifting culture towards a state of optimum wellbeing. Skippy is also the Chair of Aspen's Planning and Zoning Commission, was a City Council Candidate in 2017, and finds time in his day job as the managing director of SkyRun Vacation Rentals and Property Management.

MORE TO BE CONFIRMED SOON!