The Art of Skiing & The Killington Cup
The devil is in the details at Killington Resort in Rutland, Vermont. Peering at the trail map adorning the walls and signs at the base and peak of the ski area, one may discern quickly that an artist’s hand has been at painstaking work rendering the high alpine environment in all of its glorious intricacies. Painted by James Niehues, often referred to as the “Norman Rockwell of ski resorts”, the Killington trail map is representative of just one of James’ 255 commissioned works adorning the walls and trail heads of 175 ski resorts around the world in his signature watercolor and airbrush style.If one peers closely at the Killington Resort trail map, they will notice the downhill run called Superstar.
Like James Niehues, others with a panache and passion for detail are members of the FIS Women’s circuit who will be charging down Superstar’s ebbs, flows, and embankments during the Killington Cup alpine race event taking place on November 29th. Niehues’ preparation and work on canvas in many ways reflects the respect and consideration with which the Women’s Slalom and Giant Slalom participants approach their pre-race and race day protocols.
Arial photographs often lead Niehues to conduct a series of preliminary sketches of the mountain for which paint and color are added thereafter with the heightened sensitivities’ that previously accompanied such genres such as pointillism in which the technique applied is focused upon the eye and mind of the viewer to blend color and small elements into a fuller range of tones and images. Similarly, prior to applying their cutting-edge slalom technique, race participants conduct subject studies of their own by reviewing and analyzing the Superstar trail’s contours and gate positioning for maximum glide path efficiencies.
Thus, displaying an artfulness of their own, the FIS contingent descending Killington Resort on late November would appreciate Niehues’ deep attention to both the terrain and general persona of the mountain. His representations become works of high-demand alpine nostalgia on one hand, and extremely sought after gallery exhibition art on the other.
Like the father of Vermont’s State Parks and Alpine Ski Areas, Perry H. Merrill, who first developed Killington Peak in 1958, James Niehues, is the patriarch of ski maps whose artistic endeavors, since his first commissioned inset map for Winter Park Colorado was accepted in 1987, cover a body of work estimated at 75% of the largest resorts in the United States.
And like the Women’s FIS World Cup circuit, Niehues has covered a lot of territory and terrain in his time from Aspen to Big Sky, Whistler Blackcomb, Sugarloaf, Mont Tremblant, and countless others. A showcase of the world’s best alpine skiing talent, the Killington Cup, will place Niehues trail maps in front of the athletes and throngs of attendees who will have all eyes trained on the mountain from top to bottom. If one looks closely, a pure and thoughtful artistry will be right in front of their eyes on the trail maps, and on the Superstar slalom run depicted therein.
Scenes from the Grand Opening of the Alps & Meters boutique on Newbury Street in Boston where James stopped by for a chat and book signing.