Larry Prosor didn’t just document the birth of extreme skiing in America, he ignited it.
The spark was lit by a nine-page barrage of eye-popping images lovingly displayed in the pages of Powder magazine, titled Ski to Die. If the editors at Powder had never seen a series of shots like these, it was because a rare confluence of events had to align to make them possible. First there had to be a multi-generational talent, Scot Schmidt, who saw lines through boulder-strewn cliffs that no one had ever dreamed of skiing.
Equally important was a documentarian with the skiing chops to tuck into the precarious positions needed to get the perfect perspective. The special sauce that took the Prosor/Schmidt collaboration to the next level was Prosor’s technical proficiency in service to an artist’s eye for composition.
Prosor’s deep roots in the nascent freeride culture in and around Palisades Tahoe inevitably connected with another cutting-edge snowsport, snowboarding. As related by Tom Burt, one of the first wave of snowboard pioneers, “Larry shot the athletes that were setting trends at the time. Larry shot all aspects of the mountain lifestyle, and when snowboarding started taking hold in the 80’s, he shot that, too, shooting legends like Craig Kelly, Tom Sims and Terry Kidwell, all now in the Hall of Fame.”
Prosor’s preeminent role in popularizing a sport just finding its footing made an indelible impression on its early practitioners. “His portfolio boasts an impressive array of captivating images that have not only showcased the thrill and beauty of snowboarding, but have helped shape the visual identity of the sport,” notes Cathy White, the first manager of (and only mother to) a certain Shaun White, who Prosor first shot as a nine-year old prodigy. “Larry has worked tirelessly to promote the sport, support its athletes and inspire a new generation of snowboarders. His passion, dedication and expertise have earned him the admiration and respect of the entire snowboarding community.”
Today’s media-saturated culture is so choked with video and film, we often overlook the impact that still pictures have on our lives. Shots like Prosor’s image of Scot Schmidt, clad in a bright red onesie – taken when Schmidt was so anonymous, he had yet to sign with a sponsor – invite the viewer into the frame, where they, too, can pause in mid-air over Emerald Bay, forever weightless, anticipating the plunge into snow that, in our dreams, is forever untracked.
What you just read was my nomination pitch to the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame for Larry Prosor, who, if elected, would be the first still photographer ever elected to the Hall. The roster of subjects who flew past Prosor’s lens is a Hall of Fame unto itself, with 17 august members. Here’s what a few of them had to say about Larry’s influence on a pioneering generation of skiers and riders.
Working with Larry came at a pivotal moment in both of our lives and careers. Our ability to read each other’s minds on which line to focus on and what mark to hit was special. Any miscommunication had the potential to be lethal for either one of us. We put a lot of trust in each other; we had to, for we often had just one chance to nail it, and getting the shot in the can is what Larry did best. He inspired a generation of skiers with his iconic images that are now forever burned into our collective ski minds. These images are a huge part of American ski history and Larry was one of the first to gamble his life and career on a pursuit that was unproven and certainly out-of-the box at the time. Together, Larry and I helped change the arc of skiing history. The passage of time has proven that these were risks worth taking, validating Larry Prosor’s contributions as a true pioneer in the action sports photography world, creating a body of work that is anything but conventional. – Scot Schmidt
Over the years since Doug’s passing, I browse through Larry’s priceless collection of photos from those memorable days , bringing those moments to life. Larry wasn’t just a photographer—he was a friend enjoying mountain adventures with us. That’s what made him unique as a professional photographer. Larry captured the moments with such authenticity, never in the way, but always present. Larry was the unsung hero, always there but never in the spotlight, sharing the adventure through his lens and preserving the spirit of those unforgettable moments for skiers to enjoy and be inspired by. – Emily Coombs
As a skier lucky enough to work with Larry in this era, Larry was the perfect combination of gifted photographer, talented skier and laid-back California surfer to meld seamlessly into the emerging extreme ski and snowboard universe. We athletes were making it all up as we went. Everything was new, Larry gently supported, facilitated and rolled with it while capturing it on film. Larry was the photographer all the athletes wanted to work with. His images were the best and always published. – Rob DesLauriers
With a career span since the beginning of our sport, Larry has established himself as one of the most respected and accomplished sports photographers in our industry. His portfolio boasts an impressive array of captivating images that have not only showcased the thrill and beauty of snowboarding but have also helped shape the visual identity of the sport. Larry’s impact on snowboarding extends beyond his stunning photographs. He has worked tirelessly to promote the sport, support its athletes, and inspire new generations of snowboarders. His passion, dedication, and expertise has earned him the admiration and respect of the entire snowboarding community. – Cathy White
If you’d like to read more about Prosor’s HOF-worthy career, this article by Melissa Siig in the March 11, 2022 issue of Moonshine Ink does a fine job of capturing what makes Prosor’s work so special: https://www.moonshineink.com/sports/the-photographer-who-changed-skiing/.
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In Memorium, Carl Ettlinger
Carl was a giant of a man whose outsized voice roiled every conversation like a burst dam and whose expansive vision reached across the mixed milieus of research, journalism, risk management and education. I knew him when he was at the peak of his powers, as he explained to me when I interviewed him for a “where are they now?” profile in Skiing History. He was able to conduct long-term research on injury patterns as well as analyze the particulars of the current binding market, turn around and package this knowledge into articles for Skiing and Skiing Trade News, followed up by a workshop tour that would bring enlightenment to the grassroots level. No one but Carl could have pulled this off, and Lord knows no one has had the requisite talent, energy and will power since.
But time and tide wait for no man, and Carl’s finely spun web of influence was eventually plucked apart. The loss of his pivotal positions in the press allowed him to slip from public view before we, the skiers of the world, realized we hadn’t taken the time to thank him.
We have the time to thank him now.
So thanks, Carl, for being first and foremost a teacher, for teaching is at the heart of the evangel’s mission.
Thanks for being so damn stubborn. Your insistence on improving skier safety wore through a wall of resistance as tough as Vermont marble.
Thanks for having a heart as big as that melon-sized head of yours. The fuel to your tireless mind was a caring heart that tried to embrace the world.
Thanks for all the stories once the Mount Gay flowed. Who knew we would have won the Vietnam War if only his superiors had listened? I can’t remember exactly how – he wasn’t the only one drinking Mount Gay – but I recall the light in his eyes as he relayed his twisted tales, taking us down successive rabbit-holes of digression that I lost track of at the seventh level.
That’s what I remember most vividly about my many interactions with Carl: his brain so teemed with thoughts he rushed to get them out in a verbal jailbreak that would travel around the cosmos until returning, many lost minutes later, to the subject that had inspired them. That was Carl: too many words for one sentence, too many tasks to tend to and all of it, every erg of his endless energy, devoted to a cause he never ceased to serve.
Fare thee well, Carl Ettlinger. The world misses you already for it will never see another quite like you, whose every moment seemed larger than life itself.
I raise my glass to you, old friend. Mount Gay, of course.
Jackson Hogen
June 23, 2020
Why This Buyer’s Guide?
Don’t read the 2021 Masterfit Buyer’s Guide in Partnership with Realskiers.com for its 62 ski reviews. I should know. I wrote or edited all of them.
Not that the ski reviews aren’t worth the read. But ski reviews on the web are as common as rice, while the Buyer’s Guide contains something no other publication, whether in digital, print or video format, can claim: the most respected, thorough and dependable boot reviews in the world.
This isn’t mere puffery. The Masterfit Boot Test is so well regarded by the supplier community that nearly every brand not only sends its following year’s line-up in four men’s sizes plus three for women, it also dispatches its top designers and/or product managers to a distant North American site for most of the test’s five-day duration.
The Ripple Effect
As I’ve observed in this space before, product managers spend most of their time in the future; the present for them is two years away for the rest of us. So when the coronavirus shut down the 19/20 ski season, it triggered an automatic response in the R&D lobes lodged deep in my noggin: what impact will this have two years down the road?
If I knew the answer to this question with any certainty, I should be running a hedge fund, not scribbling about skiing. But after checking with several of the bellwether players in U.S. market, I have some idea of what’s in store.
