World-class Athletes and Guides Help Avatech Build a Global Mountain Safety Network

December 15, 2015

PARK CITY, Utah (December 14, 2015) — Avatech, an outdoor technology company focused on developing a breakthrough mountain safety platform, announces a cast of backcountry experts as ambassadors for the 2015-16 ski season. The Avatech ambassador roster comprises seven leading professional backcountry athletes and eight highly respected professional mountain guides, including ski mountaineer Chris Davenport and mountain guide Margaret Wheeler, the second woman ever to complete her AMGA/IFMGA certificate.

“We are a company serving the mountain community,” states Brint Markle, CEO and co-founder of Avatech. “These ambassadors are not only incredible athletes, but stewards and leaders of the mountain community and represent some of the most accomplished people in the industry. These athletes and guides embody the adventurous spirit while promoting education and safety throughout their endeavors.”

Chris Davenport is a world-renowned ski mountaineer. Among other accomplishments, Davenport is a two-time World Extreme Skiing Champion, and in 2007 he became the first person to climb and ski all of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains in one year. Davenport is also a board member for the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE).

“Avatech is one of those companies that, in 20 years, we will look back and know we had a really positive impact,” states Davenport. “I’m extremely proud and excited to be a brand ambassador for an innovative company that has real potential to save lives in the mountains.”

Hilaree O’Neil is a mountaineering veteran who has done everything from guiding helicopter skiing in Alaska to skiing 8,000-meter Himalayan peaks. Residing in Telluride, Colorado, in 2012 O’Neil became the first woman to climb Mount Everest and Lhotse within 24 hours.

Samuel Anthamatten and Lorraine Huber join the Avatech team from Switzerland and Austria, respectively; both are World Freeride Tour veterans and experienced ski mountaineers. Professional big-mountain snowboarders Jeremy Jones, Xavier De La Rue and Forrest Shearer round out the athlete roster.

“These internationally recognized mountain athletes and renowned guides share a common understanding that terrain choice and bold lines are not your only situations of consequence,” says Thomas Laakso brand president. “A lack of understanding of the mountain environment is equally consequential. Helping communicate and share this information is a way for these athletes and guides to give back.”

Avatech’s guide ambassadors include Miles Smart, winner of the 2004 American Mountain Guides Association Guide of the Year award, Zahan Billimoria, Teton Gravity Research’s lead guide, Henry Munter of Chugach Powder Guides, as well as IFMGA guides Margaret Wheeler, Steve Banks, Joe Stock, Fabian Pavillard, and Liz Smart.

“What Avatech is doing is groundbreaking in facilitating safe mountain travel,” says Steve Banks, director of mountain guide operations for Irwin Guides. “Avatech’s mobile and web app, Avanet, allows me to easily record and share field observations, and the SP2 makes gathering data over a variety of terrain faster and easier than ever before.”atech is building a unified platform of mountain safety information around the world. For more information on Avatech, visit http://www.avatech.com