TOP SKIERS AND SKI FILMS HONORED AT 2013 POWDER AWARDS PRESENTED BY ICELANDIC GLACIAL

PARK CITY, Utah. (Jan. 18, 2013) – Candide Thovex, Sunny (Level 1 Productions), Tom Wallisch and Ingrid Backstrom earned top honors last night at the 13th annual Powder Awards presented by Icelandic Glacial natural spring water. The event, coined the Academy Awards of skiing, debuted on opening night of the Sundance Film Festival in powder capitol Park City, Utah, to a sold out crowd of athletes, industry insiders, celebrities, media and ski fans.

France’s Candide Thovez big winner of 2013 Powder Awards with four honors. Photo: Powder

“It was a beautiful night celebrating skiing at a new venue in a new town,”said Powder Editor John Stifter. “It was a night of firsts, from Candide collecting four awards to the Level 1 crew bringing home their first Movie of the Year award after a decade of making films.”

The big winner of the evening was the enigma that is Candide Thovex. He tracked the longest voyage to Park City, importing all the way from La Clusaz, France, to accept four awards including Best Male Performance and the Icelandic Glacial Full Throttle Award for his role in Few Words from Process Films. The film also earned the Best Documentary title and Best Cinematography.

“Once more, thank you,”said Thovex upon accepting the Best Male Performance award. “That’s a big one, right there. I think a lot of people actually deserve this one. Thanks for choosing me.

Sunny, the latest from Level 1 Productions, claimed the prestigious “Movie of the Year” video award as well as a nod for “Best Editing”. It was the first Movie of the Year award for Level 1 Productions with over a decade of filmmaking under their belts. Others nominated in the category, an honor in itself, included The Dream Factory (Teton Gravity Research), The Eighty Six (Stept Productions) and Few Words (Candide Thoves).

“We wanted to make something that wasn’t epic,”says Jeff Berman, who snuck into the first Powder Awards in 2001. “We were going for a relatable and accessible film. This award is humbling, yet reassuring to know our vision of skiing is something that other people are appreciating.”

In the Men’s Reader Poll, fans voted Salt Lake City local Tom Wallisch to the top of the chart for the third consecutive year. The top 10 men were rounded out by Seth Morrison (Frisco, Colo.), Sean Pettit (Whistler, B.C., CAN), Eric Hjorleifson (Canmore, Alberta, CAN), Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (Salt Lake City, Utah), Cody Townsend (Olympic Valley, Calif.), Henrik Harlaut (SWE), Mark Abma (Whistler, B.C., CAN), Tanner Hall (Park City, Utah) and Eric Pollard (Hood River, Ore.)

Three-time Men’s Reader Poll winner Tom Wallisch Photo: Powder

“Awesome. Third time, really stoked. This is amazing. Mahalo. Party on. Get drunk,”said Wallisch. “Thanks to all the readers and the fans. You guys are why I do what I do.”

Ingrid Backstrom of Olympic Village, Calif., claimed a record eighth consecutive win In the women’s Reader Poll, further solidifying her dominance and popularity as one of the best female skiers of all time. The late Sarah Burke maintained her number two spot on the Poll followed by Kaya Turski (Montreal, Quebec, CAN), Michelle Parker (Tahoe City, Calif.) and Elyse Saugstad (Olympic Valley, Calif.).

“It feels amazing,”said Backstrom. “I’m overwhelmed. It feels great to be honored by the readers of Powder Magazine and the Magazine itself.”

Log onto PowderAwards.com to watch the show in its entirety with additional behind-the-scenes photos, complete results and more. Follow Powder on Facebook Facebook.com/PowderMag and Twitter @PowderMagazine and start the conversation with #PowderAwards.

Special thanks to presenting sponsor Icelandic Glacial, as well as supporting sponsors GoPro, Kru82 Vodka, Paradigm Audio, and Red Bull.

2013 POWDER AWARDS RESULTS

VIDEO AWARDS

Best Female Performance
Michelle Parker – Superheroes of Stoke – MSP Films

Best Male Performance
Candide Thovex – Few Words

Breakthrough Performance
Sandy Boville - Act Natural - Toy Soldier Productions

Best Natural Air
Sean Pettit – We - Poor Boyz Productions

Best Manmade Air
Henrik Harlaut – The Education Of Style – Inspired Media Concepts

Icelandic Glacial Full Throttle
Candide Thovex - Few Words – Process Films

Best Line
Eric Hjorleifson – Superheroes of Stoke – MSP Films

Best Jib
Clayton Vila – The Eighty Six – Stept Productions

Best Powder
Jay Peak – No Matter What - Meathead Films

Best P.O.V.
Corey Felton and Topher Plimpton – Because – Two Plank Productions

Best Editing
Sunny – Level 1 Productions

Best Cinematography
Few Words – Process Films

Best Documentary
Few Words – Candide Thovex

Movie of the Year
Sunny – Level 1 Productions

OTHER AWARDS

Best Web Series
Salomon Freeski TV – Switchback Entertainment

Photo of the Year Award
Jordan Manley and Dave Treadway

GoPro Award
Brody Leven

About Icelandic Glacial Natural Spring Water
Born and bottled in Ölfus, Iceland, Icelandic Glacial is the world’s first certified CarbonNeutral® natural spring bottled water for both product and operations. An environmental pioneer in the industry, Icelandic Glacial uses 100% natural green energy in the form of geothermal and hydroelectric power to fuel production, delivering a super-premium bottled water from pristine Iceland to consumers while maintaining a “net zero” carbon footprint. The source of Icelandic Glacial is Iceland’s legendary Ölfus Spring, a naturally replenished catchment zone formed during a massive volcanic eruption more than 5,000 years ago. The Spring has been deemed certifiably sustainable by Zenith International, Europe’s leading food and drinks consultancy. The Ölfus Spring produces water so pure that nothing is added or taken away. As a result, Icelandic Glacial possesses exceptional balance that is the envy of the industry, featuring a naturally occurring low mineral content and naturally high alkaline pH level of 8.4. As a testament to its exceptional purity, Icelandic Glacial was chosen by Parfums Christian Dior as the exclusive hydration method to be used in their Diorsnow line of skin-lightening beauty products to be released in 2012. Icelandic Glacial is distributed in the United States by Anheuser-Busch, which took a 20 percent ownership stake in the company in July 2007.
For more information about Icelandic Glacial, visit www.icelandicglacial.com. Follow us on Twitter @IcelandicWater and Facebook.com/IcelandicGlacial

About POWDERFor 41 years, POWDER, The Skier’s Magazine, has been produced by and for those who embrace skiing, and is developed through a collective love of two things: good skiing and good magazines. Since it’s inception in 1972, the strength of the POWDER title has been based on authenticity, experience, and respect for its readers—the most passionate, dedicated, and loyal in the sport. POWDER is part of Source Interlink Media’s Grind Media that reaches more than 10 million active sports enthusiasts through an integrated network of magazines, online properties, events and television programming. For more information, please visit www.powder.com.

About GrindMedia Reaching more than 10 million enthusiasts, Source Interlink Media’s Grind Media is the dominant force in the action sports and adventure sports arenas. In addition to publishing leading lifestyle publications such as Surfer, Surfing, Snowboarder, Skateboarder, Bike, Paved, POWDER, ATV Rider, Dirt Rider, Canoe & Kayak and SUP Magazine, Grind Media delivers a cutting-edge network of online properties such as Fantasy Surfer, events and television programming. For more information, please visit www.grindmedia.com.

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Media Contact:
Dawn Hamilton

KHPR for GrindMedia
310-295-1189
dhamilton@khpublicrelations.com