Tom Lippert - SKI Magazine photographer

Tom Lippert, whose photos appeared in dozens of publications around the world, died September 16 in Truckee, California. He was 84 years old.

Tom was raised in Lodi, California. He was working as a ski instructor at Squaw Valley in February 1969 when the World Cup came to town. A Sports Illustrated photographer needed a caddy, and Tom schlepped the camera bags. The SI pro agreed to let Tom take some shots, and his full-page photograph of slalom-winner Billy Kidd was selected to illustrate the story. It was Kidd’s second World Cup victory, and the photo launched Tom’s career.

Tom Lippert went on to become SKI magazine’s instruction photographer for more than 15 years. He covered the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Calgary and Lillehammer. His photographs also appeared in Newsweek, Time, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure, Pilot Getaways, Outside, Smithsonian Magazine and The New York Times, as well as publications in France, Sweden, Japan, Canada, Australia, Germany, Finland, England and Argentina. He photographed nine books, including No Hill Too Fast by Phil and Steve Mahre; PSIA’s The Way to Ski; Managing the Mountain/Terrain Skiing by Seth Masia; and Mountain Dreamers: Visionaries of Sierra Nevada Skiing by Robert Frohlich.

Tom Lippert, a private pilot, enjoyed taking aerial photographs of the Lake Tahoe area and the Sierra ski areas. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Laurel Hilde Lippert, writer, editor and flight instructor.