Featured Image: Speedy Archer and athletes at Mt.Hood with Ascent Eyewear logo. Provided by Speedy Archer.
After 50 years on the slopes, from competing and bending speed poles for World Cup athletes to coaching at every level, Speedy Archer is beginning a new chapter in semi-retirement.
He’s channeling a lifetime of expertise into his new company, Ascent Eyewear, with a singular mission: to give back to the sport he loves.
Born from a vision on the slopes of Mt. Hood, Ascent Eyewear provides top-tier performance at an affordable price. While his competitors charge up to three times as much, Ascent delivers premier materials and advanced lens technology in every pair of goggles and sunglasses.
But what truly sets the company apart is its commitment to a greater purpose. A portion of every sale goes directly to supporting the next generation of alpine ski racers, snowboarders, and freestyle athletes as they chase their dreams.
Top-Tier Development
Speedy’s deep roots in the ski industry are the foundation of Ascent Eyewear.
Drawing on his extensive network, he partnered with top-tier factories, the same ones trusted by leading brands like Anon, Smith, and Dragon. This commitment to quality was the first step in creating a product that could stand toe-to-toe with the biggest names in the industry.
At the heart of Ascent’s innovation is the proprietary Luna Lens technology.
The multi-functional Ascent Luna Lens delivers all-condition performance with its polarized, photochromic, UV protective, and anti-fog features. With its advanced technology handling all-day light changes, you only need the clear lens on hand for night skiing.
Unlike standard lenses, the Luna Lens features an advanced coating that is more scratch and smudge-resistant, ensuring clarity from the first run of the day to the last.
The Ascent Eyewear 2025/26 Lens collection features six color options: red, blue, cherry, black, green, and chrome silver.
Ascent Eyewear has recently introduced a new line of sunglasses that incorporate the same advanced technology, performance, and reliability as their goggles. Explore the latest offerings to experience the quality firsthand:
Athlete Tested
The product development wasn’t confined to a lab; it was tested where it matters most, on the mountain.
Speedy enlisted a group of athletes training at Mt. Hood, forming Team Ascent. They “tested the goggles for a month and a half to two months” before he confirmed the “truly dope designs.”
This feedback led to two distinct models: the HX0125 for freeskiing groomers, backcountry, and those steep and deep pow seekers. The HX055 is more specifically shaped for alpine ski racing helmets. Speedy added, “Both of the models’ unique designs will fit alpine ski racing helmets perfectly.”
Ultra Magnetic Lens
A key feature Speedy focused on was the magnetic lens system. While some might be hesitant to use magnetic goggles for racing, Speedy explained that Ascent’s design team “put more magnets in the frame than anyone else.” This design ensures a stronger and more secure bond between the lens and frame, keeping it “locked in place,” especially during race runs.
The Dope Ascent Frame
“The Ascent frame is a truly dope design,” Speedy explained.
The design was born from relentless testing on Mt. Hood. Our team rode with multiple frame types, foam layups, and shapes through every weather condition and terrain imaginable, from jumps, bumps, parks, and slalom courses.
This real-world research and development led Ascent Eyewear to engineer the Ascent frame with a roomy nose bridge and triple-layer face foam for a perfect fit. It’s paired with industry-leading lens technology and outstanding peripheral vision.
The Mission of Impact
Speedy stated, “Our mission is to sell directly off the website and to ski clubs to support programs.” This direct-to-consumer approach cuts out retail markups, allowing Ascent to give back to the mountain community.
A cornerstone of this mission is the Area Rep program, designed to empower young athletes.
Speedy explains, “We’re giving the opportunity for an athlete to support themselves or their own programs.” He continued, “The Ascent Area Rep program can be compared to a paid athlete sponsorship. Through this program, you will receive complimentary Ascent Eyewear samples to use personally as you sell products and earn a commission on every sale.”
Ascent Eyewear provides financial assistance to individual athletes and helps ski clubs by offering them high-quality gear at a reduced price.
Supporting Individual Athletes
Our Ascent Area Rep program works like a paid sponsorship. When an athlete or coach rep sells a goggle with their unique discount code, the customer receives 20% off and the rep earns a $15 commission. They can use these funds to support their own skiing or donate them to their home ski program.
Supporting Ski Clubs
Ascent Eyewear offers multiple sales channels for club fundraisers, swaps, and event sponsorships. Clubs can purchase a minimum of 50 goggles at a reduced wholesale price. We also give back $15 per goggle, helping clubs raise money for their own initiatives.
This give-back model isn’t just a gimmick; it’s the core of Ascent Eyewear’s business.
“That’s the whole circle that we’re trying to cultivate, and that’s our culture and what our company’s all about.” Speedy emphasizes his flexibility and willingness to work with a wide range of groups, from high school teams to adaptive programs.
For Speedy, this mission is a direct response to a major challenge facing the sport today: it has become too expensive. By making premium gear accessible and affordable and by actively giving back to the community, Ascent Eyewear is working to ensure that the next generation of skiers has opportunities to thrive.
To learn more about Ascent Eyewear’s support programs for ski clubs, sponsorships, fundraisers and swaps please contact Speedy Archer directly: ascenteyewear@gmail.com or speedysemail@gmail.com.
Looking Ahead with a Goal of Inclusivity
“The message is clear. We’re a company that’s driven by not only innovation and development of a unique product but also by helping the community,” Speedy stated.
Looking ahead, Ascent Eyewear wants to be expansive and inclusive: “I’m trying to position ourselves in the market with a variety of kids, programs, and families. From all-mountain, free skiing, freestyle, park, pipe, and leisure skiing to whatever mountain activity it is.”
To achieve this, Speedy will continue to operate the company with a unique, flexible model. By keeping overhead low, he can offer competitive prices and, more importantly, a flexible approach to giving back through his Ascent Area Rep Program.
Speedy explained, “Ascent is open to working with any program.”
Ultimately, the goal is to make a tangible impact. Speedy’s hope with his community-first mindset is “that the athletes, parents, and coaches that I worked with during my 50-year career will come forward to support Ascent Eyewear and my movement to give back to the sport of skiing.”
Collaboration with Attack From the Back in Mt. Hood
Ascent Eyewear saw incredible success this summer, with strong sales of both the HOX55 and HXO125 models at various ski camps at Mt. Hood.
The goggles were a favorite among both junior and master ski racers, and they received rave reviews from customers at Attack from the Back, a shop that sold the goggles in Government Camp. “Our goggles were put to the test on slalom and giant slalom courses, in the halfpipe and terrain parks, and on Mt. Hood’s big air features, and they performed flawlessly,” Speedy stated.
Additionally, FUXI is now an official Ascent Eyewear seller, and he will carry the eyewear at his Copper Mountain shop during camp season, and at all the events he attends throughout the winter. Also, Ascent Eyewear is the official sponsor of Lisa Ballard Masters Camp.
By combining top-quality manufacturing with athlete-driven testing, Ascent Eyewear has created a product that proves you don’t have to sacrifice quality for value.
These goggles feature top-notch technology and a perfect fit that works seamlessly with all helmets, delivering a reliable and affordable product that truly performs.
Speedy Embraces Semi-Retirement and Shifts His Focus
For Speedy, this new business venture is also a reflection of a profound life change.
After a lifetime spent traveling the world for alpine ski racing, he’s embracing a new chapter of semi-retirement focused on being home, family, and community. “I’m going to coach the Jesuit High School team while running the new company so I can be home for my wife and my family, which becomes paramount heading into my mid-seventies,” he shares.
Provided by Speedy Archer.
He has filled his career with incredible experiences, from servicing World Cup athletes to witnessing historic moments like a young Picabo Street winning a medal. “I’ve been all over the world for this sport,” he recalls. “I went to probably every ski race, four or five Olympics, and four or five World Championships.”
Further, he reminisced about some career highlights, including seeing the first breakaway hinge gates used on the World Cup circuit and bending the very first set of super-G poles for Marc Girardelli’s inaugural super-G race. He also created a slalom forward bend and GS bend for Ingemar Stenmark.
These experiences and the people he met along the way compel him to give back. “Ski racing has given me so much, so that’s why I’m giving back.”
Ascent Eyewear is the vehicle for this mission, ensuring that his legacy isn’t just about what he’s done, but what he’s helping others achieve.
Ascent Eyewear will not have a dedicated customer service phone line, but Speedy always be reached via email: ascenteyewear@gmail.com or speedysemail@gmail.com.
About the Author: Ellie Hartman
