In the 1990s skiing underwent a revolution. Big mountain skiers picked up the pace, while an emerging group of park skiers incorporated stylistic expressions in the air and urban environments, influenced by snowboarders and skateboarders. It was the beginning of the freesking movement, a subculture of mainstream skiing, which at the time was driven by racing. At the heart of the park scene was East Coast photographer Jeff Winterton. 

Winterton, who secured the first published photo of a rail slide by a skier—Jason Levinthal in downtown Albany, NY, in Freeze Magazine-—is now the academy director for Aztec Soccer in Topsfield, MA. He recently came across a handful of slides from the ’90s, many of which have never been seen by the public. It’s a collection that documents a critical era in skiing, one that lifted the sport out of stagnation. 

As for his roots, “I started out just trying to be like Scot Schmidt,” Winterton, now 47 years old, says…

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