Colorado’s rich and colorful skiing and snowboarding history was on display and viewed by 7.2 million travelers passing through Denver International Airport this past ski season during a special exhibit presented by the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame.

“Fashion, Form, and Function: Then and Now” showcased 130 years of the state’s snow sports history, creatively demonstrating the evolution of equipment, fashion and trends in 30 display cases and boards located just off the main terminal and before security screening in DIA’s Terminal A.

“We’ve taken a vintage ski artifact and placed it next to its modern-day counterpart,” said ski museum curator Justin Henderson “For example, a vintage, leather ski boot adjacent to a modern, plastic boot, or an 1880s, 9-foot, mining ski with a modern K2 ski.”

The exhibit ran from Oct. 1 and through March 28, 2008. It has been moved to the Museum’s permanent location in Vail on the 2nd floor of the Vail Village parking structure. Exhibit sponsors included Communication Arts, Gorsuch LTD, Vail Resorts, East West Partners and Slifer Smith and Frampton Real Estate.

From the early trappers and miners of the late 1800s who used skis primarily as a mode of transportation during the state’s snow-choked winters to the 10th Mountain Division ski troopers who trained near Vail during World War II to the high-tech Olympic racers of today, Colorado continues to make its mark on the skiing and snowboarding world.

An accessible and interactive time capsule, the Vail-based Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame has more than 4,500 photographs, artifacts, pieces of equipment and articles of clothing that were considered in creating the DIA exhibit and are on constant display at the museum itself, located in the Vail Transportation Center.

“Colorado’s history and heritage is rooted in skiing and snow sports,” said Susie Tjossem, executive director at the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame. “With so many new visitors to Denver International Airport every day, we are thrilled to share and educate others on our state’s unique past.”