Benjamin Schmatz

Benn grew up in Kansas City. The love for the mountain West, fostered by his parents and grandparents, drew him to Denver to study Engineering Physics at the Colorado School of Mines. While at school he studied hard, most of the time, and spent the balance of his time in the mountains: hiking, skiing, and leading groups of youngins’ into the mountains at YMCA Camp Chief Ouray in Granby, CO. Upon graduation, he made his way to the Gunnison Valley and first heard about The Lab while working at the Crested Butte Nordic Center. In his current position he does everything from snaking drains to keep the water flowing to fixing sensitive scientific equipment to keep the data flowing.