Still in his early 20s, his obsession with gear and ability to embrace harsh conditions on the East Coast started to pay dividends. As Walter’s confidence behind the lens grew, he traveled to big-name ski events to see what he could really do. From Rails 2 Riches in Killington, VT (perhaps the East Coast’s most iconic rail jam), to Simon Dumont’s Dumont Cup in Sunday River, ME, Walter went everywhere he could—usually pushing through lengthy day trips in his parents’ old Toyota Camry and, if he was lucky, crashing on a friend’s couch to get an extra day of shooting in. He started to post event photos to Newschoolers, and it wasn’t long before Walter was selected as one of four pho-tographers who’d join the company roster through an online contest, mainly traveling to shoot and write about events. Newschoolers general manager, Doug Bishop, and content manager, Jeff Schmuck, believed in the young photogra-pher—namely his technical prowess and commitment to the underappreciated East Coast scene—galvanizing his pursuit of professional photography. “I had been so fired up about their site for so long, and all the sudden they gave me an opportunity to be a real part of it all,” Walter says. “I was posting hundreds of times a day on the site at that point, but suddenly I was more than just a kid posting. I was starting my career.” The paid role with Newschoolers took Walter all over the East Coast and he gained notoriety as the talented new kid on the block. His use of multiple flashes and eye for unique angles stood out, but it was his drive and hustle that started to set him apart. In a scene known for its laid-back appearance, Walter was anything but, working frenetically to get the shot he had in mind. When he made it to Mount Hood, OR to cap-ture West Coast Sessions, one of park skiing’s most celebrated events, top freeski photographers and videographers couldn’t ignore the rising talent. “Calling [Walter] a workaholic would be cliché, but he loves what he does and it shows,” says Evan Heath, a videog-rapher behind many of skiing’s most memorable park edits and former Newschoolers video content manager. “He was always showing me cool new ideas for photos he wanted to shoot and, next thing I know, he’s executing that idea. I’ve always respected that ability to think creatively and execute high-level content in an artistic way.” That’s Walter’s inner engineer at work. Behind most of his shots are hours of doodling equations to dial the perfect sun-set angle, the most memorable moon, or the best overhead angle. In his spare time, he’s in the basement, innovating a new way to shoot products, exploring the depths of his differ-ent cameras’ potential. AFTER WEST COAST SESSIONS, the momentum kept building, and Walter’s work began gracing the pages of Freeskier , Powder, and other outdoor magazines. He’d taken a job as a snow reporter at his home mountain of Sugarloaf, but freelance still beckoned. After Newschoolers came calling about a shoot with Eric Pollard and Karl Fostvedt in Sun Valley, ID, he knew he needed to strike a balance. With Sugarloaf’s blessing he moved into a contract role and pursued freelance projects across the country. Yet while the logical work trajec-tory led west, Walter once again has chosen his own path. “I stay here on the East Coast—in Maine—because I love it. But also because it’s a challenge,” he says. “We don’t have the biggest mountains. We don’t have the best snowfall. But I know I can make it look just as cool, if not cooler, than anywhere else in the world.” Steadily he’s done just that, shooting New England ski culture and pursuing burly backcountry objectives across the East Coast. From overnights on the top of Mount Washington, home of the world’s worst weather, to multiday trips out on Mount Katahdin, Maine’s highest mountain and one of its least-documented skiing objectives, if there’s anything chal-lenging on the East Coast, it’s likely in Walter’s crosshairs. “Doesn’t matter what the conditions are or the circum-stances. I know [Jamie will] get a good shot,” says Andrew Drummond, owner of the popular Jackson, NH ski shop, Ski the Whites, and a constant fixture in the New England backcountry scene. “Jamie does such a good job of putting himself in uncomfortable, cold, brutal places in order to suc-ceed. And because he knows the equation of that grind, he often does.” Walter has worked to shine a spotlight on his home region, capturing the nuances of his community and the beauty of its often harsh seasons. As a result, he’s become a point of reference for East Coast outdoors photography before the age of 30. There are just three widely used ski guidebooks in the region: Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast, Graniteland, and Presidential Skiing . His photos grace the covers of all three. Recently he returned to video and helped found a small media company, locking in big projects for clients like Old Town Canoes and Visit Maine. Though that initial venture dissolved in 2020, Walter is currently building a new business, Ridgeline Creative. While he works with clients all over the globe, being committed to his East Coast roots continues to pay dividends. Walter is now 28, that pivotal college road trip over 10 years— and many shutter clicks—in the rearview. He still has bouts of depression, but says that with each day, and each photo, he finds another reason to be happy. He often thinks about one of his favorite mantras, the family motto of Ernest Shackleton, the 20th century explorer who spent 11 months trapped in Arctic ice: “Fortitudine Vincimus” or “By endurance we conquer.” “Nothing is ever as easy as it seems,” Walter says. “But when you’re super passionate about something, you don’t just strive to be good, you strive to dominate. And that’s really what I want to do: conquer my craft, my mental battles, and whatever it is that makes my clock tick.” Jamie Walter Gallerie 089
The Ski Journal Volume 15, Issue 1: Page 89
