James Niehues
For 33 years, Colorado native and iconic ski resort trail map artist James has painted more than 200 stunning trail maps that skiers and snowboarders have used to navigate Colorado and other resorts, worldwide. James began painting at the age of 15 and his trail map artist career began in 1987, with the encouragement of noted trail map artists Bill Brown and Hal Shelton. James’ initial 1987 commissions were with Boreal Pass and Soda Mountain Resorts, followed by his large commissions from Vail and Steamboat in 1988. He is an iconic part of skiing; from the way we use his maps to his signature in the bottom corner. His body of work was recently brought together in his book, “The Man Behind the Maps.”