Featured Image: Rocko Menzyk | Skier: Sam Cohen | Words: Jordy Grant-Krenz
The current state of skiing produces so much content that we can hardly keep track of it all. The flood of edits, recaps, daily updates, big lines, trailers, new tricks, full films and so on can be dizzying. We’re not complaining. This day and age is unparalleled in terms of quantity and quality. There is a lot of nonsense, yes, but there is also a regular rotation of incredible projects. Amidst all the noise, it’s easy to forget that members of our community are creating some of the most moving, spellbinding and inspiring media ever seen.
When we look at this mass of media, our daily attention shifts to the iPhone viral moments, but our long-term memories are almost always consumed by the projects that are time-consuming, detailed endeavors. They pull us into the world of the rider. Park, street or powder, it does not matter. The underlying themes of perseverance, bliss, escape, passion; these are what connect us as skiers. In this category, most of what the usual viewer consumes are film projects, consisting of anything from long-form movies to 10-minute masterpieces. These are fantastic works, but there’s another art form that we like to focus on at FREESKIER that isn’t often given its time in the spotlight; photography.
A skier and photographer, not hunting for extended moments, but for a single instant. Perhaps it comes in the first hour, or maybe it comes at the tail end of a full 14 hours in the mountains. Either way, these images let us sink into a single thread of the larger tapestry that is freeskiing. A pause is rare and welcomed in a world of constant movement. With this in mind, we brought back our ‘Photo of the Week’ series. Every weekend, we bring you a shot from around the globe that we think deserves your attention. Maybe one of them inspires you to head out for tomorrow’s storm or to book a ticket to a new country with skis in tow. Or maybe they were just a normal part of your day. Ultimately there’s no wrong answer, and at a bare minimum, they look cool, eh? We extend a massive thank you to every photographer who submitted photos and let us showcase their work. Here are our top Photo of the Week Editor’s Pick selections for winter 23/24.
And yes, we still print photos, too. Hooray! Two fresh issues of FREESKIER will be coming to a newsstand, ski shop or mailbox near you this fall.
Click here to subscribe to FREESKIER – Skiing’s Independent Magazine
Have a photo you’d like to submit for Photo of the Week? Please send an email to [email protected] for consideration.
For print photo submissions, please send an email to [email protected] for consideration.