The Making of a New Steamboat Trail Map
Published October 2023
Behind the Scenes of the Creative Process
A trail map is more than a guide — it’s a portrait of the mountain.
Following Alterra Mountain Company’s transformational investment in Steamboat — including expanded terrain, the full Wild Blue Gondola, enhanced learning zones, and upgraded snowmaking — the mountain entered a new era. With 650 acres of advanced and expert terrain added in Mahogany Ridge, Steamboat became the second-largest ski resort in Colorado.
That kind of growth called for more than small updates. It called for a complete reimagining.
Steamboat partnered with local graphic artist Stefan Bast to create a trail map that reflects the full scale, personality, and progression of the mountain today. The result is a modern interpretation that replaces previous versions across the resort, website, app, and print materials.
Capturing a Mountain in Motion
Stefan Bast approached the project from the ground up — reimagining how the mountain should be represented while staying true to its recognizable shape and flow.
As Stefan puts it:
“The art lies in capturing different aspects of the resort in a piece of artwork without skewing things to the extent that the mountain loses its shape and becomes unrecognizable.”
The updated trail map reflects several major additions and enhancements that now define the Steamboat experience:
Each of these changes required rethinking scale, perspective, and how terrain relationships are visually communicated.
rich-text, responsive-table
Behind the Scenes of the Creative Process
A trail map is more than a guide — it’s a portrait of the mountain.
Following Alterra Mountain Company’s transformational investment in Steamboat — including expanded terrain, the full Wild Blue Gondola, enhanced learning zones, and upgraded snowmaking — the mountain entered a new era. With 650 acres of advanced and expert terrain added in Mahogany Ridge, Steamboat became the second-largest ski resort in Colorado.
That kind of growth called for more than small updates. It called for a complete reimagining.
Steamboat partnered with local graphic artist Stefan Bast to create a trail map that reflects the full scale, personality, and progression of the mountain today. The result is a modern interpretation that replaces previous versions across the resort, website, app, and print materials.
Capturing a Mountain in Motion
Stefan Bast approached the project from the ground up — reimagining how the mountain should be represented while staying true to its recognizable shape and flow.
As Stefan puts it:
“The art lies in capturing different aspects of the resort in a piece of artwork without skewing things to the extent that the mountain loses its shape and becomes unrecognizable.”
The updated trail map reflects several major additions and enhancements that now define the Steamboat experience:
- The 650-acre Mahogany Ridge terrain expansion, including the Mahogany Ridge Express lift
- The completed Wild Blue Gondola, one of North America’s longest and fastest 10-person gondolas
- The redesigned learning terrain in Bashor Basin and Greenhorn Ranch, built to accelerate beginner progression
Each of these changes required rethinking scale, perspective, and how terrain relationships are visually communicated.
rich-text, responsive-table
How a Trail Map Comes to Life
Creating a ski trail map isn’t purely cartography. It’s interpretation. The goal isn’t strict geographic accuracy — it’s clarity, flow, and usability.
Here’s how the process unfolds:
1. Research
It starts on the mountain.
Skiing the terrain. Riding lifts. Exploring in summer. Studying satellite and LiDAR imagery. Gathering photography from multiple angles.
Understanding how guests experience the mountain is just as important as understanding its physical layout.
Initial concept sketches begin shaping conversations around perspective, prominence, and terrain relationships.
2. Sketch Development
With major infrastructure updates — lift terminals, expanded terrain, and reconfigured base areas — early sketches help determine how everything fits together visually.
Digital sketching allows flexibility. Multiple versions of specific zones can be tested. Scale can be adjusted. Terrain prominence can shift.
This is a collaborative phase, with Steamboat’s marketing and mountain teams reviewing layouts to ensure guest clarity and intuitive navigation.
rich-text, responsive-table
Creating a ski trail map isn’t purely cartography. It’s interpretation. The goal isn’t strict geographic accuracy — it’s clarity, flow, and usability.
Here’s how the process unfolds:
1. Research
It starts on the mountain.
Skiing the terrain. Riding lifts. Exploring in summer. Studying satellite and LiDAR imagery. Gathering photography from multiple angles.
Understanding how guests experience the mountain is just as important as understanding its physical layout.
Initial concept sketches begin shaping conversations around perspective, prominence, and terrain relationships.
2. Sketch Development
With major infrastructure updates — lift terminals, expanded terrain, and reconfigured base areas — early sketches help determine how everything fits together visually.
Digital sketching allows flexibility. Multiple versions of specific zones can be tested. Scale can be adjusted. Terrain prominence can shift.
This is a collaborative phase, with Steamboat’s marketing and mountain teams reviewing layouts to ensure guest clarity and intuitive navigation.
rich-text, responsive-table
3. Digital Drafts
Rough layouts evolve into detailed pencil-style digital drawings capturing:
Agility is key. Working digitally ensures that future trail cuts or lift updates can be integrated without rebuilding the entire map.
Fun fact: Nearly 80–90% of the trees on the map are drawn uniquely.
4. Final Artwork
Once the structure is locked in, the final art begins.
Using tools within the Adobe suite — including Procreate, Adobe Fresco, Photoshop, and Illustrator — the map is transformed into its finished form. A stylus and tablet replicate traditional painting techniques while preserving digital flexibility.
After the artwork is complete, trail names, lift labels, and key amenities are layered in carefully. The goal is always clarity over clutter — giving guests everything they need without overwhelming the design.
rich-text, responsive-table
Rough layouts evolve into detailed pencil-style digital drawings capturing:
- Cut runs
- Tree density
- Rock formations
- Terrain features
- Structures and lift infrastructure
Agility is key. Working digitally ensures that future trail cuts or lift updates can be integrated without rebuilding the entire map.
Fun fact: Nearly 80–90% of the trees on the map are drawn uniquely.
4. Final Artwork
Once the structure is locked in, the final art begins.
Using tools within the Adobe suite — including Procreate, Adobe Fresco, Photoshop, and Illustrator — the map is transformed into its finished form. A stylus and tablet replicate traditional painting techniques while preserving digital flexibility.
After the artwork is complete, trail names, lift labels, and key amenities are layered in carefully. The goal is always clarity over clutter — giving guests everything they need without overwhelming the design.
rich-text, responsive-table
The Biggest Challenge
Compressing a three-dimensional mountain into two dimensions — without losing its soul.
A trail map has to feel like the mountain. It must preserve Steamboat’s recognizable profile while helping guests understand progression, terrain flow, and how zones connect.
It needs to come alive.
Why It Matters
Steamboat’s trail map is one of the first things guests see when planning their day — on the app, online, or standing at the base.
It shapes expectations. It builds anticipation. It helps families navigate beginner terrain, guides experts toward Mahogany Ridge, and connects everyone back to Thunderhead.
It’s functional art. And like the mountain itself, it continues to evolve.
rich-text, responsive-table
Compressing a three-dimensional mountain into two dimensions — without losing its soul.
A trail map has to feel like the mountain. It must preserve Steamboat’s recognizable profile while helping guests understand progression, terrain flow, and how zones connect.
It needs to come alive.
Why It Matters
Steamboat’s trail map is one of the first things guests see when planning their day — on the app, online, or standing at the base.
It shapes expectations. It builds anticipation. It helps families navigate beginner terrain, guides experts toward Mahogany Ridge, and connects everyone back to Thunderhead.
It’s functional art. And like the mountain itself, it continues to evolve.
rich-text, responsive-table