Ski Posters: Vintage Ski Resort Art from the Alps and Beyond
Updated 2 November 2026
Ski posters are travel posters for the mountains: a famous peak, a snowy resort and a scattering of tiny skiers, drawn in the flat colours and big lettering of the classic Alpine adverts. Vintage-style ski posters of resorts such as Chamonix, Zermatt, St Moritz and Niseko bring that clear winter light to a wall, whether or not you ski.
Alpine resorts have been selling winter on posters for more than a century. Here is how ski posters began, the stories behind four of our favourite resort designs and how to choose one.
In short
- Winter tourism in St Moritz dates back to September 1864, when a hotelier made a wager with four British summer guests.
- Emil Cardinaux's 1908 Matterhorn poster for Zermatt is often described as the first modern Swiss poster.
- Chamonix hosted the first Winter Olympics, from 25 January to 5 February 1924.
- The Matterhorn stands 4,478 metres high and was first climbed on 14 July 1865.
- Our ski resort collection has around 90 posters, in A sizes from A5 to A0 plus inch sizes, delivered free worldwide.
How did vintage ski posters begin?
The ski poster story starts with winter tourism itself. St Moritz traces its life as a winter resort to September 1864, when a local hotelier made a wager with four British summer guests: if they disliked a winter visit, he would repay their travel costs; if they enjoyed it, they could stay as his guests as long as they wished.
Swiss poster art found its modern voice on a mountain. In 1908 the artist Emil Cardinaux made a colour lithograph of the Matterhorn for Zermatt, now held in the collection of the V&A in London, and it is often described as the first modern Swiss poster. More than a century later, the Matterhorn is still the star of Zermatt posters, ours included.
The Winter Olympics then gave the resorts a stage. Chamonix hosted the first Games in 1924, held at the time as an "International Winter Sports Week" and recognised by the IOC as the first Olympic Winter Games soon afterwards. St Moritz followed in 1928 and again in 1948.
What makes a good ski resort poster?
- A hero peak. Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn or a perfect snowy cone, big enough to own the sky.
- Tiny people. Skiers, skaters or a horse-drawn sleigh show how vast the mountain is.
- Cold light, warm windows. Pale blues and whites, with the glow of a chalet or a shopfront to warm the scene.
- Lettering you can read from the lift queue. The resort's name in large capitals across the top.
- A line of facts. Our ski resort posters finish with figures such as the summit height along the bottom.
Which ski posters capture the Alps?
Chamonix. The town beneath Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus, changed its name to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in 1916. Mont Blanc was first climbed on 8 August 1786 by Jacques Balmat and the doctor Michel-Gabriel Paccard, and the cable car to the 3,842-metre Aiguille du Midi was the highest in the world when it was built in 1955. Our poster hangs a red cable car above a busy snowy street of shops and hotels, with the Mont Blanc massif filling the sky behind.
Zermatt. The Matterhorn, 4,478 metres high, straddles the border between Switzerland and Italy and was one of the last major Alpine mountains to be climbed. Edward Whymper's party reached the top on 14 July 1865, and four of the seven climbers died on the descent. Zermatt is free of combustion-engine cars, and its highest lift reaches the Klein Matterhorn at 3,883 metres. Our poster shows the peak above dark timber chalets with glowing windows, a horse-drawn sleigh, skiers and a red gondola.
St Moritz. At about 1,800 metres in Switzerland's Engadine valley, St Moritz has been a winter resort ever since that 1864 wager. It hosted the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948, and the White Turf horse races are still held on its frozen lake every winter. Our poster gathers it into one scene: a grand hotel above the lake, skaters and a curling stone on the ice, skiers on the slopes and a little red train climbing the hill.
Austria is here too. At St Anton, Hannes Schneider developed the Arlberg technique, still a foundation for teaching alpine skiing, and in 1928 he helped organise the Arlberg-Kandahar race there; Kitzbühel, Lech and Ischgl have posters of their own. In Italy, Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Dolomites hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956 and again in 2026, alongside Milan.
Which ski posters go beyond the Alps?
Niseko. On the Japanese island of Hokkaido, Niseko is famous for high-quality powder snow, known as "Japow", and for its hot springs, or onsen. Our poster has both: two skiers carving through fresh snow, bathers in a steaming outdoor pool, timber lodges and a gondola, all below a snow-capped cone of a mountain.
In North America, Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia hosted the alpine skiing events at the 2010 Winter Olympics and is, by many measures, the largest ski resort on the continent. Aspen, Vail, Jackson Hole and Lake Louise are in the collection too.
Closer to home, Scotland has five ski centres: Cairngorm Mountain, Glencoe Mountain, Glenshee, Nevis Range and the Lecht. Each has a poster in the collection, and Cairngorm's shows Scotland's only mountain funicular railway.
Which ski poster should you choose?
| Poster | Country | On the poster | Claim to fame |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chamonix | France | Mont Blanc massif, red cable car, busy village street | Hosted the first Winter Olympics, 1924 |
| Zermatt | Switzerland | The Matterhorn, chalets, horse-drawn sleigh | Matterhorn first climbed in 1865; no combustion-engine cars |
| St Moritz | Switzerland | Grand hotel, frozen lake, skaters and curling | Winter resort since 1864; Olympics in 1928 and 1948 |
| Niseko | Japan | Snowy peak, hot spring, powder skiers | Powder snow and onsen |
If someone has skied a resort, start there; a first ski trip, a honeymoon or a chalet season makes the choice for you. Otherwise choose by mood: Chamonix and Zermatt for mountain drama, St Moritz for old-world glamour, Niseko for something different.
Where do ski posters look best?
- Boot room or hallway. Where the skis, boots and coats live, at A3 or 12x16 inches.
- Living room. One resort at A2 or 18x24 inches above the sofa, or A1 and up for a feature wall.
- A teenager's room. For the family member who spends all year waiting for the snow.
Every ski poster comes in A sizes from A5 to A0 and a range of inch sizes, or as a digital file. For exact measurements, see our UK poster sizes guide.
Tip: one poster per trip
Add a resort poster after every ski holiday, always in the same frame colour, and over the years the wall becomes a record of your winters. If a frame option is shown on the product page, you can order each one framed in black, white, light wood or dark wood.
Each poster is printed to order on high-quality paper in 1–3 working days, then delivered free worldwide: 2–4 working days in the UK or 2–5 elsewhere (see Delivery Info). Prints that aren't personalised can be returned within 60 days (Returns).
Bring the mountains home
See the Chamonix ski poster, the Zermatt ski poster, the St Moritz poster and the Niseko ski poster, or browse all our ski posters in the ski resort posters collection. Free worldwide delivery on every order.
More reading: the history and style of vintage travel posters and how to build a travel poster gallery at home.
Frequently asked questions
Where were the first Winter Olympics held?
In Chamonix, France, from 25 January to 5 February 1924. The event was held as an International Winter Sports Week and later recognised by the IOC as the first Olympic Winter Games.
Are these original vintage ski posters?
No. They are new designs inspired by classic resort posters, printed to order on high-quality paper in the size you choose.
What size ski poster should I buy?
In a hallway or boot room, A3 or 12x16 inches is enough. Above a sofa, choose A2 or 18x24 inches; for a feature wall, go to A1 or one of the larger inch sizes.
How long does delivery take?
Printing takes 1–3 working days. Delivery is then free: 2–4 working days within the UK and 2–5 working days worldwide.
Sources (checked 2 November 2026): our Delivery Info and Returns pages; Wikipedia: St. Moritz, 1924 Winter Olympics, Chamonix, Mont Blanc, Matterhorn, Zermatt, Hannes Schneider, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Niseko, Whistler Blackcomb; V&A collection record for Emil Cardinaux's Zermatt poster (1908); blue News (Keystone-SDA) on Swiss poster art; VisitScotland: skiing and snowsports; and the product pages linked above.