Are we destined to live in cyber reality – or are we about to be blessed with a whole new world of connectedness? At the Oberalp Summit in Venice, our main aim is to provide more clarity about the metaverse. And together with our community, we’ll be looking at the benefits to the mountain sports industry, and what challenges lie ahead. Because ultimately, it’s up to us to decide whether the metaverse is an asset or a threat.
The Oberalp Summits
Relevant Topics
Our get-togethers with retailers, business partners, athletes and influencers, held twice a year in spectacular places, are not about selling goods. We do showcase the latest collections from our mountain sports brands. But the Oberalp Summits are all about looking to the future, and about topics that are relevant to the mountain sports industry as a whole. With the help of our community and some engaging speakers, we explore issues that affect us all - because we believe these issues will shape our future.
And so, over the years, we’ve amassed an impressive archive.
Check out some of the topics that are prescient to the mountain sports industry.
Oberalp Summit SS24
Mountains and the Metaverse
Previous Oberalp Summits
Explore some of the topics we’ve covered in the past.
Oberalp Summit FW23/24
Gen Z Mountains
Or: How the next generation is set to change the world. Gen Z is starting to take the reins – both in society and in business. And it is loud and clear about what it wants.
So what exactly are the beliefs, values plans and dreams of these newcomers? Which generation are we actually developing our products for? Are we perhaps too focused on the past and too little on the future? Let’s hear what they have to say. At the Oberalp Summit in Zürich, we’ll be handing over the mic to people from generation Z.
OBERALP Summit SS23
‘Made in Asia’ or ‘Made in Europe’?
If nothing else, recent years have taught us that global supply chains are far from infallible. So why is manufacturing in Asia still a sensible and necessary move? The Oberalp Summit in late spring 2022 looked closely at the supply structures and processes within the outdoor and sports industries. Oberalp’s core values act as the matrix upon which these are built. Because the mountains sports industry can only succeed going forwards, if businesses are ethical and sustainable, and work hard to protect the natural world while encouraging people to be active outdoors.
Oberalp Summit FW22/23
The Future of Winter Sports
Winter sports are also a major priority for the Oberalp Group's brands. But as climate change takes grip, with winters becoming shorter and snow increasingly only at high elevations, what can be done?
It is not enough for the mountain sports industry to put everything into cutting its carbon emissions. The whole business model needs to be reconsidered. At the Oberalp Summit in November 2021, we looked at the current industry status, what measures have already been taken and what targets we need to set, if winter sports are to have a future.
Oberalp Summit SS22
My first approach
How beginners turn into mountaineers. People have always been drawn to the mountains. But during and after the pandemic the lure of mountains seemed to increase exponentially, with many making their first foray. So we wanted to better understand the personal motivations behind this new trend. What are the drivers and what are the likely underlying anxieties? The behavioural research institute Karmasin Behavioural Insights from Vienna interviewed close to 900 respondents for us about their first experiences in the mountains. The results are a fascinating insight for the whole outdoor industry.
Oberalp Summit FW 21/22
Mountains & Women
Mountains are becoming more feminine. And with it, mountain sports themselves. Although many men still view mountains as a battle against the elements and summits to be conquered, many women are driven by other motivators as they move through nature, often from a very different perspective. For these women, it’s about enjoying some “mountain me-time”.
At Oberalp this knowledge has led to the establishment of its sixth mountain sports brand: LaMunt. At the Oberalp Summit in October 2020 we looked at how this shift in perspective will change the mountain sports industry as a whole.