The 19th annual Powder Awards served as a celebration for the skiing community Thursday night at the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge.
Skiers Angel Collinson and Candide Thovex won the popular fan-voted Powder Poll Awards. In the women’s vote, Michelle Parker and Elyse Saugstad were voted second place and third place, respectively. In the men’s vote, Cody Townsend and Henrik Harlaut took second and third place.
“Something I’ve been thinking about in these turbulent times is just how much skiing transcends political boundaries, cultural boundaries: it’s such a uniting force and is so sacred,” Collinson said while accepting the award. “It’s such a cool thing that skiing brings to the world and I hope we all take time to remember that and enjoy these moments with each other in the mountains.”
Thovex texted in his speech and apologized for missing the event.
“Big thank you to everyone who voted. I feel honored and it always means a lot to me. Congrats to all the nominees and winners tonight. Merci.”
Harlaut wouldn’t go home without a first-place award, though, as the popular freeskier won the Best Male Performance for his part in the film “The Regiment,” from Stept Studios. Saugstad won the Best Female Performance for her part in “All In,” an all-women video from Matchstick Productions.
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“If this award represents anything, it means turning 40 doesn’t mean sh**,” Saugstad said. “There’s so many women I take so much inspiration from, and that pushed me. It was so wonderful to work with these ladies in this film. Thank you to MSP for giving us girls this opportunity this year to just kill it in the mountains together.”
The Movie of the Year award was given to “Far Out,” from Teton Gravity Research. Teton Gravity Research also won the awards for Best Powder — for a segment featuring Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Hadley Hammer, Nick McNutt, and Dane Tudor — and Best Post-Production. Teton Gravity Research also won for Best Photograph for a Nic Allegre photo of Elyse Saugstad in Monte Lussari, Italy. A framed print of Allegre’s photo also sold for $2,700 in a charity auction to raise money for the High Fives Foundation, this year’s Powder Awards charity partner. The organization has dispersed $3.2 million to athletes with life-altering injuries since its founding in 2009.
Teton Gravity Research co-founder Todd Jones said he took special pride with the Best Powder award.
“As a ski bum who wakes up and just wants to slice his skis through snow and get hit in the face with snow,” he said. “… Chase powder, chase the dream, and live your life for the next turn.”