Welcome to Louis “Lou” Dawson’s Website
Lou Dawson, Denali basecamp 2010.
Writer and ski mountaineer Lou Dawson is the founder and publisher emeritus of WildSnow.com,the first ski-touring dedicated website in the world, established in 1998.
Dawson is also the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks (the fourteeners), a project he completed in 1991.
Along with his career in digital content, Dawson has authored numerous books and print articles covering ski touring and mountaineering.
As Lou describes backcountry ski touring, “When a ski or snowboard descent completes a fine climb, the alpinist becomes a joyful, even sublime part of the the wild landscape. No human game is more elegant and exalted that that of climbing to a summit, then sliding down a mountain on a glistening mantel of white snow.”
Lou Dawson’s most recent publication covers safe ski touring in Colorado.
Dawson’s ski mountaineering history book.
Dawson has a special affinity for the history of ski mountaineering. In 1998 he authored the authoritative text on the history of the sport in North America. Titled “Wild Snow,” the book covers 54 classic mountain ski descents of North America, with chapters devoted to each major mountain region on the continent. In all, a historical narrative that will make both beginning and expert ski tourers anxious to grab their skis or snowboard and head for the hills.
Through his more than two decades tenure of the WildSnow.com website, he broke stories, promulgated history, and enjoyed many journeys to Europe. In his most well known of such adventures, he became friends with Fritz Barthel, inventor of a ski binding that revolutionized ski touring. Lou’s ongoing blog posts about his encounters with Fritz, often in Austria, remain as enjoyable and educational reads.
Currently, Lou continues as a blogger and content creator for WildSnow.com, and is working on numerous long-term creative projects.
