Clark MATIS

Clark Matis came from a ski family, as his mother was a member of the University of Colorado ski team in 1939, the first ever female on the ski team there. His father, Arvo Matis, was a longtime President of the Durango Ski Club and helped develop the Chapman Hill ski area. He also coached and supported junior ski racing teams in La Plata County in Colorado. Clark was on the US National Nordic Ski team from 1969-72, after winning the US Junior Nationals in 1964. He skied for the University of Colorado, winning the 1968 and 1969 NCAA cross-country championship. He also competed for the US at the 1966 and 1968 World Universiy Games. In 1971 Matis won the 15K and 30K at the Rocky Mountain Division Championships. He later became an executive with Rossignol skis, but in 1981 Matis, with Randy Merrell and John Schweitzer, founded Merrell, an outdoor shoe company. They later sold the company to Karhu USA, and it was acquired in 1997 by Wolverine Worldwide. Matis designed boots for Merrell and had multiple patents on shoe and boot designs.