Louis "Lou" Dawson -- Bio and Profile

Louis Dawson during the Trooper Traverse in 2001.

Louis (Lou) Dawson

Born: January 12, 1952
Home: Carbondale, Colorado.
Favorite Mountain: Mount Sneffels, Colorado.
Interests: God, family, computers, old Jeeps, history, elk stalking, photography, music, and of course mountaineering (especially of the skiing flavor).

Please contact Louis Dawson by using the contact link in menu to left.

Mountaineer, writer and photographer Louis Dawson climbed his first peak at age nine. Since then his mountain adventures have ranged worldwide. In the 1970s and 1980s he made his living in outdoor education and as a carpenter. During that time he did a notable amount of pioneer rock and ice climbing in Colorado, then combined his ski skills with his mountaineering savvy to become one of Colorado's most prolific ski mountaineers and backcountry skiers.

Nearly three decades ago Dawson began his career in outdoor media with the publication of his first book, Colorado High Routes (recently re-editioned as Dawson's Guide to Colorado Backcountry Skiing).

In 2005 Lou was inducted into the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame.

Since his first book, Lou has also published Colorado 10th Mountain Trails (official guidebook for Colorado's popular 10th Mountain backcountry ski huts), Dawson's guide to the Colorado's Fourteeners (Vol. 1 & 2), and Wild Snow, a major work that covers the history of backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering in North America. Dawson has authored many magazine articles, and presently works as a writer, public speaker, website designer, and digital content creator (both words and graphics). He is married, has one child, and lives in Carbondale, Colorado.

Dawson's latest book, Dawson's guide to Colorado Backcountry Skiing, is a must read for anyone who enjoys the winter backcountry of Colorado.

Lou's writing is soulful, insightful, and at times controversial. While much of his work is basic exposition of mountain routes, he's also known in the backcountry skiing community for his history and opinion writing. In the 1980s and 1990s he reviewed backcountry ski equipment for Couloir Magazine, specializing in highly technical randonnee ski bindings. He also works as a website creator and publisher. His own website, WildSnow.com, is famous among backcountry skiers for its tips and details about backcountry skiing equipment, and for Lou's backcountry skiing weblog -- the first such blog for North America.

Dawson is the first man to have skied down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000 foot peaks. His grand adventure began with a ski descent of Castle Peak in 1978. He added a few others to his list, then in 1987 he set out in earnest to ski them all. He accomplished his goal in May 1991 with a 16 mile, 16 hour ascent and ski of Kit Carson Peak in the Sangre de Cristo range of southern Colorado. A few of the "fourteeners" offer wide and gentle ski slopes, on others, Dawson contended with pitches of 45 to 60 degrees.

Now in midlife (he was born in 1952), Dawson still does a prodigious amount of ski mountaineering, but says he does not consider himself an extreme skier. He climbs and skis the high peaks for the joy of exploration, spiritual awe, athletic challenge, and fellowship with family and friends."Nobody does what I do for bragging rights," he says. "It is too hard and it's too dangerous -- you're there for other reasons." You get a feel for those reasons when you enjoy Dawson's words and images.

[short bio for media use] [full length resume]

Lou is a man of many talents, and hires out his expertise in the following fields:
Backcountry guide (working through licensed outfitters)
Writer (features, advertising copy, web content)
Photographer and digital image creator
Website development
Digital cartography
Multimedia creation (digital video, sound, etc.)
Public speaker
Web content

Following images are copyrighted and for media use only, by permisson:

[download high-res print tif version of Dawson ski photo, credit Brian Litz]

[download high-res print JPEG version of Dawson ski photo, credit Brian Litz]

[download high-res print version of Lou mug, credit Joe McBride]

[download high-res print version of Lou portrait, credit Brian Litz]

[download high-res of Lou portrait, Denali 1973, credit Louis Dawson collection]

[download high-res Lou portrait, Denali 1973, blue parka, credit Lou Dawson collection.]

[download high-res shot of Lou's first peak, age 10, credit Craig Dawson]

[download high-res shot of Lou skiing Crestone Needle, credit Glenn Randall]

[download high-res shot of Lou during Elks traverse 1979 - 8 MB Tiff version]
(credit, Lou Dawson collection)

[download high-res shot of Lou powder skiing in 1980s, credit Michael Kennedy]