I was saddened yesterday to hear the news that photographer and ski mountaineer Carl Skoog had been killed in a fall while ski mountaineering in South America. I met Carl for the first time in 1995, when I’d started working on my history book, Wild Snow. Carl was super supportive of that project — generous with his images and stories, as well as friendly and humorous about the trials of publishing backcountry skiing related material. He was was familiar with publishing because of his successful photography business. Carl was an influential figure in North American ski mountaineering and backcountry skiing. He accompanied his brother Lowell and others on many firsts, and his efforts to share the sport through his images had a huge impact. But mostly, he was simply a fine human being. Rest in peace Carl. My condolences to Carl’s family and friends.
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WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
