Alta, Utah, receives 530 inches of a snow a year, on average, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Alta’s snow is lighter, drier, and fluffier than just about anywhere on the planet, thanks a fortuitous convergence of topography and local climate patterns, and the Alta ski area is where powder skiing was perfected. For nearly two decades, photographer Lee Cohen has called Alta and its neighbor, Snowbird, his studio, and he has captured some of the deepest, most iconic powder skiing images the snow world has seen. Never was the lesson of location more acutely taught.

The Adventure Life caught up with Cohen right on the edge of the season…
Okay, Leeroy, you grew up in New York. What was that all about? When did you first ski? How did you make the decision to come west? And how did you settle upon Alta?

I grew up in Queens and Long Island. My dad was somewhat of a skier and he got me out when I was five or six at a little place called Silvermine just north of the city. He planted the seed, and we did two or three road trips together in Vermont by the time I was a teenager. In college I trashed my knee and had my meniscus removed, end result being that a couple of months after surgery I went skiing and decided to take a year off. Spent a great winter at A-Basin, discovered Utah that winter, became fully possessed by Alta and Snowbird. The myth of Utah snow preceded itself and then was proven to be true.

I don’t remember any specific moment when I first heard about Alta or whatever it was that urged me to go there. Probably general chitchat about skiing and the mega snow and the deepest pow. If you’re a ski bum when you’re first hearing about Alta or Utah it takes on mythological proportions. It’s only after you ski there and taste it that you realize it’s true.

How can you possible work when it’s blower? Doesn’t it drive you crazy?
My best skiing has always been on storm days. Plenty of skiing, usually the best snow. Sunny days you have to shoot, that’s life. I try to shoot in the storm now and then, too. Sometimes you get some great skiing even when you are working, especially if you’re out touring. You may get to ski a whole line before anyone to get into position, or you may get a pristine top to bottom run down after you shoot everyone. Or you may be farming hits the whole way down. That’s why, you know, they call it work.

Last time we talked, you said Alta was changing. That really struck me, because for half a century it really hasn’t changed all the much. So, what’s going on? What’s different than when you first got there?
Alta has done an incredible job of maintaining its atmosphere while making slow and gradual concessions to change. The top to bottom Collins chair really opened it up to where you can get in a lot of vert in a short time. There’s a lot more people living here to ski as much as possible nowadays but on a stormy, snowy day the experience is often just like was for me when I first arrived.

Alta is still low key compared to most major ski areas, but there is a huge scene here now because a bunch of ski stars live in the area now and a great deal of hype is continually generated by the snow sports media. To me the whole scene started changing with the emergence of the gap scene, and Sage and the Collins bros were the ones who really brought attention to it in LCC. Now there’s a ton of “name” skiers hanging around. And then industry companies woke up and bailed on the Northeast and moved here too. Hello.

When I was at Powder, I added up how much we paid our highest-earning photographer and I was blown away how little it was. How does one make a living as a ski photographer? Is it worth it? What strategies do you use to get by?
You have to hustle, no matter who you are. There are magazines, hard goods and soft goods clients and I’d say almost every ski photographer also shoots other outdoor sports if he’s making a living shooting. It’s more a lifestyle than a get-rich plan.

There’s one spot at Alta right at the top of a lift where you and dozens of other photographers simply kill it. What’s the competition like on a powdie day for lines?
Utah is a ski photo mecca because we get the great snow followed by great bluebird days. More snow days, more sunny days right after the dump. So we have a ton of photographers here and they all have their go-to spots. Rocky Point, Wolverine, Grizzly Gulch is the most common circuit. There are variations but basically they all revolve around starting at Alta, going out of bounds, and coming back to Alta. The open gate policy is a photographer’s best friend to help them avoid areas the public tracks out once the mountain is open. Of course, the options for ski touring elsewhere are huge but the ease and user friendliness of some routes predominate.

Were there any photographers or particular ski shots that were especially influential on you?
For me, learning to shoot skiing has been a personal adventure. When I see a photo I really like I try to remember it, so if I see a situation it would be ideal for it I can try something similar. I didn’t have any primary influence but Powder magazine was definitely where I got my jones for ski photography as a youngster living back east.

What’s in your camera kit? Is it any different when it’s dumping vs. when its sunny?
Camera kit—Nikon D3 or D300, 70-210 zoom, a super wide lens and a shorter zoom, either a 28-85 or a 20-35. I have a couple of big telephotos but it’s nice to travel light. You always have backcountry gear and food and water too, but keeping the weight down saves energy. As I get older I find keeping it light important. The half-sensor cameras make it easier on you because of the lens amplification factor, you can just take a zoom and leave your 300mm home.

Tell me about the subtleties of powder photos.
Ski photography is a merging of variables…there are all the regular factors—composition, shutter speed, lens opening, light, and focus. Then you have the action sport variable which defines the moment–the skier’s form, the way the skier integrates with the frame, the way the snow blows up. In my edits the snow is a huge factor for pow shots—a big explosion interaction between skier and snow but enough showing to give the photo some definition. The monster explosion with almost nothing showing for frame of reference can be good too, but I usually end up liking to see a bit more.

I know some people, even avid skiers, look at deep pow shots and think, “Ah, that’s just another deep pow shot”. For me, though, that’s what it’s all about, the dynamics of the fragmenting snow interacting with the skier form takes on a unique context of its own. Every day has different light, and later on, even years later, when I look back at images I can often tell which day they were from, just from the quality and characteristics of the light. The snow takes on the tone of the day’s light.

Tagged as: skiing