Angel Collinson and Candide Thovex take 19th annual Powder Poll awards

The ski community celebrated in Breckenridge on Thursday night with the presentation of the 19th annual Powder Awards at Riverwalk Center, after Day 1 of Dew Tour competition was in the books. The ever-popular fan-voted Powder Poll Awards went to Angel Collinson and Candide Thovex.

“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, 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.” Second and third place in the Powder Poll Awards went to Michelle Parker and Elyse Saugstad.

Thovex sent his acceptance speech in via text, apologizing 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.” Second and third place Powder Poll awards went to Cody Townsend and Henrik Harlaut.

Harlaut won Best Male Performance for his part in The Regiment, from Stept Studios, rendering him nearly speechless. Saugstat had more to say after winning Best Female Performance for her part in All In, an all-women video from Matchstick Productions.

“If this award represents anything, it means turning 40 doesn’t mean sh**,” joked Saugstad, before thanking the other women featured in All In . “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.”

Movie of the Year honors went to Far Out, from Teton Gravity Research, which also collected awards for Best Powder (for a segment featuring Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Hadley HAmmer, Nick McNutt, and Dane Tudor) and Best Post-Production, as well as a Best Photograph nod for a Nic Allegre shot of Elyse Saugstat in Monte Lussari, Italy. A framed print of Allegre’s photo 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.

TGR co-founder Todd Jones said he took special pride in 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.” His company has collected a lot of awards – and a lot of Best Powders awards – over the 23 years he’s been making films, and he advised the crowd to “chase powder, chase the dream, and live your life for the next turn.”

The night, hosted by Matt Sterbenz, also included the presentation of the Best Line Award to French skier Tof Henry for a segment from Born in Chamonix, shot by Daniel Rönnbäck. Tof Henry also took Breakthrough Performer honors later in the night. Other individual skier recognitions included Best Jib winner Phil Casabon, for a triple kink rail line in the B-Person film En Particulier, and Best Air honoree Parker White, for his deep send in Zig Zagˆfrom Level 1 Productions.

Sherpa Cinema’s Children of the Columbia took Best Short and Best Cinematography. Hoji, a career-spanning film covering the life and career of Canadian skier Eric of Hjorleifson, won Best Documentary.

For more on the 19th annual Powder Awards, visit Powder.com.