Early skiing was a "wild West sort of pursuit" in Colorado, says Steve Hurlbert of Winter Park Resort.
The runs were lumpy and unkempt, meaning only the most daring athletes could take it on as a hobby.
Then, in the 1950s, a man named Stephen Bradley came up with a way to groom the slopes.
9NEWS went to Winter Park, where Bradley was once the executive director, to learn more about how the "Father of Slope Grooming" came up with the idea.
Watch the story in the video above, shot by 9NEWS meteorologist Cory Reppenhagen.
