If you are a skier, there is a good chance James Niehues has been your mountain guide. Throughout his 30-year career he has worked at more than 200 ski resorts. He has left his mark in North America, South America, Australia, Asia and Europe. And even if you have never shared a bottomless powder day with him, he has always been close by. Maybe even in your pocket. Niehues has extensively researched, photographed and illustrated nearly every ski map over the past three decades. Ski Magazine regularly ranks the Top 50 resorts in North America. He has 45 of them. His tools of choice are a camera, a notepad and a paintbrush. Every painstaking detail - peaks, cliffs, trees and shadows – is painted by hand.