Claire Walter - Journalist, author

Claire Walter, long-time journalist and author, died on July 20, 2026, in Boulder, Colorado, at age 82.

Walter was the kind of writer who could describe a ski run in the Dolomites and a bottle of Barolo with equal precision. She studied in Boston before building a career entirely on her own terms, working as a freelance writer. She wrote about the places she went, and she went nearly everywhere. Walter skied mountains on three continents, chased good wine into small villages that did not appear on maps and ate meals she still talked about years later. 

A prolific writer who specialized in snowsports, travel and food, Walter penned hundreds of articles for dozens of magazines and newspapers, including Skiing, SKI, Ski Area Management and the New York Times, beginning her career at a time when women snowsports writers were few. She also authored or co-authored some two dozen books, including Rocky Mountain Skiing, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Skiing, Skiing on a Budget and Snowshoeing Colorado. Walter was also beloved by colleagues for being a generous mentor to other writers, always willing to share information and guidance.