Snow Country
From 1984 to 1988 Fry worked independently as a consultant. He was an early user of computer word processing, enabling freelancers to operate from their homes. He wrote a column on editing for Folio, the magazine of magazine management. He worked on the startup of "European Travel &amp; Life Magazine", and of "Golf Course Living", and served as editorial consultant for "Environmental Nutrition". In the summer of 1987, the New York Times Co. retained Fry as an editorial consultant to create the content and design of a new magazine, "Snow Country", aimed at skiers and visitors to the mountains. Following publication of the premier issue in January 1988, he became the full-time editor-in-chief. "Snow Country", which attained a circulation of 450,000, was named by the Acres of Diamonds Awards in 1991 as one of America's best new magazines. The magazine, acquired by another publisher in 1999, ceased publication in 2000. In 1996, the New York Times Sports/Leisure Group appointed Fry as Editor of New Magazine Development. In this role, he started "Golf Course Living Magazine". He retired from the New York Times Co. in 1999. As Editor of "Snow Country" and an elected director of the Pinchot Institute for Conservation, he helped to initiate two national conferences on the environmental impact of the rapid growth in mountain living. At the same time, he devised the idea of measuring the economics and demographics of counties containing the majority of U.S. ski resorts.