Winter Park Colorado | 1992/93

Winter Park Colorado, 1992-1993, by Keith Brown

This striking vintage ski poster showcases the pristine Winter Park ski area in Colorado during the 1992-1993 winter season. The image presents a breathtaking panoramic view of a vast snow-covered landscape, with a lone skier carving elegant S-turns down an untouched powder field. Snow-laden evergreen trees frame the composition on both sides, creating a natural gateway that draws the viewer's eye across the expansive white terrain to the distant mountains under a brilliant blue sky. The bold, three-dimensional typography at the top and bottom of the poster—"WINTER PARK" and "COLORADO" respectively—is rendered in a deep navy blue with dramatic shadows, while the season dates "1992-1993" appear in smaller text at the bottom.

The early 1990s represented a significant period of development for Winter Park Resort, one of Colorado's oldest and most beloved ski destinations. Founded in 1940 and owned by the City and County of Denver until 2002, Winter Park had entered a phase of major expansion by the 1992-93 season. The previous year had seen the installation of the high-speed Zephyr quad chairlift, revolutionising access to the mountain and significantly improving the visitor experience. This particular ski season occurred during a pivotal time when the resort was expanding its terrain and modernising its infrastructure, including improvements to the Mary Jane area, which had become renowned for its challenging mogul runs. Winter Park had firmly established itself as a premier Colorado ski destination, accessible yet offering diverse terrain for all skill levels.

While the poster does not prominently display an artist signature, it appears to be the work of Keith Brown, a Colorado-based commercial artist who produced several resort posters during this period. Ski resort posters from this era typically blended photography with graphic design elements, creating iconic imagery that captured the essence of the winter sports experience. Brown's style was characterised by clean compositions that emphasised the natural beauty of the mountain landscapes whilst incorporating bold typography. Unlike earlier ski posters that featured stylised illustrations, this 1990s poster utilises photographic realism to showcase the pristine skiing conditions that made Winter Park famous.