As one of skiing’s all-time prolific shooters, Flip McCririck not only helped define and capture an entire generation of skiers, but his work and aesthetic also continues to hold skiing to a higher standard. As more photographers reach for the remote control of a buzzing drone and set it all to auto, Flip holds fast to that which ultimately makes a photographer’s work unique and relevant: His own vision.

Beginning as another East Coast transplant gone west for college, Flip graduated from Colorado’s Western State in 1984 before making the final leap to the Pacific and Pasadena, CA’s reputable ArtCenter College of Design. After graduating in 1989, he went on to work as an art director in advertising before eventually heading back to Colorado. “I didn’t like the art director job—which I worked so hard to get—very much,” he says. “Long days, up to 16 hours, and schlocky regional advertising was not all that. Even though I was fresh out of too much school, going to photography full time just seemed the right path.”

A friend who was living in Vail at the time invited Flip to shoot the Pro Mogul tour stop. He came, he shot and he submitted his images. The tour’s organizers were impressed enough to invite him back to the next event in Aspen. After the weekend, a photographer hired by the tour was caught selling his comped lift ticket. He was summarily fired, and Mr. Philips McCririck picked up the gig. “Lesson learned: Never sell a free ski pass,” Flip says. “I never have.”…

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