These 10 Retro ’70s Ski Ads From POWDER Are Pure Gold

One of only a few advertisements from POWDER’s first issue, this illustration feels fitting. It contains the catchphrase that would eventually become synonymous with the magazine, “Powder to the People,” and displays a beverage that, to this day, is favored by skiers everywhere: beer. 

2. Built for Bumps

When an advertisement opens with the phrase “Skiwear designed by bump-junkies,” a rollercoaster is imminent. This inset, which highlights skin-tight snowpants sold by O’Neill, only gets better from there. “You know the kind. Guys who need a mogul fix to start the day. They attack bumps so big they need a periscope to ski them. The strain on the wheels is boggling,” the next few sentences read. From the copy alone, you might guess that whoever wrote this was actively sweating and salivating as the words flowed from their keyboard. It almost, but not quite, seems perverted, in a 1970s sort of way. 

3. The Greatest Skiing in the World

Sometimes, simplicity and a bit of mystery sells. With this advertisement, Canadian Mountain Holidays presented the key to “the greatest skiing in the world.” To learn more, all a curious reader had to do was cut out and mail a coupon. We were sold. 

4. Welcome to the Gunshow

And there’s the shirtless man, flexing a ski like a Greek god. It is unconventional, to be sure, but Skilom does get their point across about the durability of their cross country equipment. If the biggest hunk around can bend your sticks nearly in half, they can probably withstand a lap or two on the cross country trails. 

5. That's a Deal

Lift tickets, discounted midweek lodging, rental equipment, and a food allowance. In the 1970s, that’s what $26 got you at Ski Sierra Blanca (now known as Ski Apache). It’s not quite as good as it sounds. We—or a computer, rather—did the math, and that $26 would be worth about $138 today. Still, for everything this Sierra Blanca bundle included, that’s a pretty sweet deal. At the wrong mountain on the wrong day in 2025, you’d pay twice that just for the privilege of waiting in lift lines.

6. An Avant-Garde Invitation 

Rolling the artistic dice might, in the end, be best reserved for college film projects inspired by David Lynch. But you can appreciate what this ad for a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah, was trying to do—combine the metropolitan with the mountains—despite the results not being particularly legible or eye grabbing. It was unique, understated, and totally of its era, making the advertisement a worthwhile inclusion on this list. 

7. Planet Skiing

On the other side of the coin, this advertisement for Park City, Utah, took subtlety and told the useless sentiment to take a hike. It has a collage including seven images, a photo of Jupiter, a sizable blurb of text, and, for good measure, an illustration of a cartoon cowboy-turned-skier carrying a rocket. Each element probably could’ve been an advertisement on its own, but sometimes, you need the kitchen sink to get your point across.

8. Merchandising, Merchandising, Merchandising 

POWDER merch! 1970s POWDER merch! That’s it. That’s the advertisement. If anyone happens to have a pair of those short-shorts lying around, please let us know.

9. A Trusty Bud

Wearing a beer-themed sweater while participating in a famously boozy sport, like skiing, is probably redundant. But when said sweater looks this good, the temptation remains. Plus, anyone who picked one of these bad-boys up could take satisfaction in knowing that their hard-earned money had gone towards a good cause—the sweater proceeds, as the advertisement notes, were donated to the U.S. Ski Team.

10. Skiing in Jeans? Skiing in Levi's 

Denim and skiing have had a long, wild romance. Published by Levi’s, this chapter of their on-again off-again courtship screams the 1970s and, for that reason, among others, we love it.

This piece is part of POWDER's Summer of Ski Nostalgia content series. Stay tuned in daily for more nostalgic articles, and keep an eye out for the upcoming Summer of Ski Nostalgia badge to identify future content.

You can also view all of POWDER's summer nostalgia content here.