Communications Director Emily Summers said James Niehues, who is legendary for painting nearly every ski area in North America, painted all of Deer Valley’s previous maps. However, Niehues recently retired so the resort hired an artist he trained to paint the new map.
“Rad Smith, who did our new map, was an apprentice of his that learned his hand painting methods, and we have continued in that way,” Summers said.
Smith is an illustrator and graphic designer known for his dedication to the tradition of hand-painted ski maps.
Summers said Smith visited the Deer Valley terrain in March to begin sketching the new map. After a few renditions, the drawing was approved and Smith began painting.
The new map incorporates the entire terrain expansion which more than doubles the resort’s size.
“Most notably for this year is the addition of the Deer Valley East Village, and access to Deer Valley from that new gateway off U.S. Highway 40,” Summers said. “That really details into our three new lifts coming out of the Deer Valley East Village.”
The new Hoodoo Express and Aurora chairlifts take skiers to beginner-friendly runs. The Keetley Express is Deer Valley’s first six-pack bubble chairlift and connects visitors to the Sultan Express chairlift on Bald Mountain.
The map also showcases the 20 new runs set to open Dec. 18. Summers said the map also previews the expanded terrain that will open during the 2025-26 winter season.
“It lays out the terrain skiers can expect next year, which is over 100 more ski runs,” she said. “So it gives skiers really a glimpse of how that's all going to integrate into the next season.”
Deer Valley plans to debut another six lifts, including a 10-person gondola, along with the nearly 100 new trails. The map will be updated next season to denote the names and difficulty levels of those runs.
