We are excited to share that James Niehues’s new painting of Mad River Glen, Vermont is complete!  In partnership with Mad River Glen and the Stark Mountain Foundation, the Kickstarter campaign was a huge success, exceeding our Kickstarter goal by 1,600% for a grand total of over $120,000. All profits from the campaign will benefit The Stark Mountain Foundation and Mad River Glen.

“This partnership took off immediately and absolutely blew us away with its success,” says Mad River Glen’s marketing and events director Ry Young. “Not only do we now have a stunning hand-painted trail map from the best in the business, but we’ve also raised a sizeable nest-egg we can use to help with all-new, on-mountain signage and other mountain projects utilizing the artwork.”

The artist behind Mad River Glen’s new map, James Niehues, has created a career as the premier trail map painter. James photographs the mountain from all angles, and then interprets the different perspectives into a single flat painting—something not easily replicated by computers. Through his process James paints everything down to the individual trees and rocks with unmatched accuracy.

“Mad River Glen has been an absolutely fascinating project,” says James. “There are so many intricacies to the mountain. An important rock here, and a lightly cut glade there — the mountain is dotted with features that make it unique and prove why it’s such a deeply loved mountain.”

Now that the Kickstarter campaign has been completed, all will receive prints by the end of November, with maps available online later in the year. The money raised will go to Mad River Glen and the Stark Mountain Foundation to help with on-mountain projects related to the artwork for years to come. 

“Ben and I are thrilled with the results. We are proud to have raised so much money for Mad River Glen and The Stark Mountain Foundation,” says Todd Bennett, co-founder of Open Road Ski Company.

We will release a regular edition Art Print for Mad River Glen later this year after we have fulfilled all Kickstarter Backers. Click here to add your name to our email list for update.