Photo: Dan Brown

It's been a pretty busy month for award shows. While many had their attention turned to big gala's such as the Grammy's and the Golden Globes, it could have been easy to forget about that very special event that goes down each year in a little place called Aspen. Luckily for you, Grindtv was on hand to bring you all of the juicy photos and details from the tenth annual Powder Video Awards (PVA) & Reader's Poll that took place during Winter X Games 14 in Aspen, CO.


Mike Rogge, Tanner Hall, Jossi Wells & Jeff Schmuck
Photo: Dan Brown

The best moment of the night was arguably the induction for the "Lifetime Achievement Award." This prestigious award went to none other then the legend himself, Mr. Warren Miller. At 85, Miller is veteran in the game and flew in from Montana for the event despite a broken back.

When accepting the award, Miller said "I'm 85, that's a long trip on a pair a skis." He also encouraged all skiers to remember Shane McConkey, and take note of his incredible feats. Miller ended his speach by saying "Make a lot of turns and enjoy every moment of it...just don't cross your tips!"

Good times were had by all, especially by the winners! Check them out-

2010 Powder Video Awards

BEST JIB:
Tim Durtschi (Everyday is a Saturday) by Poor Boyz Productions

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER:
Dane Tudor

BEST NATURAL AIR:
Mark Abma (In Deep) by Matchstick Productions

BEST MANMADE AIR:
Tim Durtschi (Everyday is a Saturday) by Poor Boyz Productions

BEST LINE:
Daron Rahlves (In Deep) by Matchstick Productions -

BEST FEMALE:
Lynsey Dyer (Magic Moments) by Stormshow Studios

BEST P.O.V.:
Antoine Montat (Can't Stop) by Ride the Planets

BEST POWDER:
Pep Fujas (Contrast) by Nimbus Independent

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE:
Sean Pettit (In Deep) by Matchstick Productions

BEST DOCUMENTARY:
Swift.Silent.Deep. by SSD Production

BEST EDITING:
Swift.Silent.Deep. by SSD Productions

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Signatures by Sweetgrass Productions

FULL THROTTLE:
Sean Pettit, In Deep by Matchstick Productions

MOVIE OF THE YEAR:
In Deep by Matchstick Productions

PHOTO OF THE YEAR:
Photographer: Eric Berger, Skier: Dan Treadway, Location: Mount Cayley, B.C.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT:
Warren Miller


2010 POWDER READER POLL
Men:
First Place: Seth Morrison

Women:
First Place: Ingrid Backstrom


Click here for more photos from the event.

By Heather Hendricks

Here at Grindtv.com we pressed rewind on 2009 and looked back at all the moments that shook the world of snow. From dancing divas, OMG moments and comeback queens, we sifted through it all and came up with our picks for the 2009 "BEST OF" SNOW AWARDS.

Most Main Stream Media Coverage:

Louie Vito- Snowboard
This one's obviously a no-brainer. Vito's stint on Dancing with the Stars propelled this shredder to a new level of stardom.

Gretchen Bleiler- Snowboard
The queen of snowboarding wins this award for her numerous TV appearances and print features. From Conan to the Today Show, Snowboarder to TWS. Gretchen and her new husband Chris Hotel even landed a spread in "Brides Magazine" featuring their Costa Rican wedding. See our girl all "glammed" out

Simon Dumont- Ski
Why you ask? Because it's Simon. The guy is a marketable prodigy. Just check out his list of sponsors, and see how many times he's been on MTV. He even appeared on the Ellen Show after breaking the world quarterpipe height record.


Simon at the 2009 Winter X Games Ski Big Air. Photo www.nateabbott.com

Sarah Burke- Ski
Ms. Burke (soon to be Mrs.) has appeared in mainstream magazines such as Maxim and FHM. She also won female action athlete of the year at last year's ESPY's and is aptly known as skiing's dominating darling.



Most Hyped Olympians:

Shaun White- Snowboard
This surely comes as no surprise with all of Shaun's commercials, TV appearances, video games, a second line for Target, and a $500,000 private halfpipe in the Colorado backcountry. All the bells and whistles are well deserved though, Shaun is about 10 steps ahead of the game with his pipe riding and is as close to a sure bet for going to Vancouver as anyone. Stay tuned to the Grand Prix coverage here on GrindTV.com to see if he makes the cut.


Everyone wants a piece of Mr. White. Photo: www.nateabbott.com

Lindsey Jacobellis-Snowboard
This Boardercross powerhouse was favored to win the 2006 Olympics, but her showboating cost her the gold in Torino. (Who can forget the disastrous method and subsequent crash.) The big hype around Lindsay this year is her chance at redemption. With World Cup titles and X Games Golds over the past four years we're sure she can do it, as long as she doesn't try this again-

Bode Miller- Ski
Bode Miller is no stranger to stealing the spotlight. People have been hyping this dude for years. What do you think of his chances? Search him, and see what eveyone's saying on Yahoo Sports.

Jennifer Heil- Ski
Jennifer Heil is a mogul skier who won the gold in Italy in 2006, and she is favored to win again this year. Follow her twits all the way to the gold- twitter.com/JennHeil



"Heart of Gold" Philanthropy Award:

Louie Vito- Snowboard
Our mainstream media pick also wins for having the biggest heart. Louie Vito has used his new stardom to help those in need. This year he hosted the 6th annual Louie Vito Rail Jam at his home resort- Mad River Mountain. With the help of his family and sponsors, Vito raised money for charity and donated all of the proceeds from the comp to those in need. See pics of Vito giving back here-

Hannah Teter- Snowboard
What do maple syrup, snowboarding, and Africa all have in common? Hannah Teter! Teter has pledged to donate all of her contest earnings to the small village of Kiridon, Africa. Teter has also created a maple syrup business and is donating all the profits to the impoverished village. To get involved check out www.hannahsgold.com

JP Auclair- Ski
JP formed the humanitarian organization called Alpine Initiatives and built an orphanage/school in Kenya for kids. He is a super nice guy, with a really big heart, and we love him for it. See what's he's all about here- www.alpineinitiatives.com

Grete Eliasson-Ski
In 2007, Eliasson donated an entire $25,000 dollar prize purse to charity. Since then Grete continues to help with numerous charities, and plans to donate future winnings to help those in need. Grete also has a sweet blog. Check it out. www.greteeliassen.com



Break out Performances:

Tyler Flanagan- Snowboard
Young gun Tyler Flanagan wins this award for busting-out and breaking-down the competition at the first stop of the Winter Dew Tour in Breck just a few weeks ago. Flanagan stomped his way to 1st place in Slopestyle by getting techy on the rails and staying consistent in the massive triple-line. Big ups to this little guy- and watch out for him in the future. Check his winning run-


Maddie Schaffrick- Snowboard
Miss Maddie Schaffrick is a ripper. At age 15 she's already proven she can hang with the big dogs. Big ups for winning best trick at the Snow Angels contest in Aspen back in April. Keep your eye out for Maddie on top of many podiums in the future.

Dane Tudor- Ski
Dane won male skier of the year at IF3 for his segment in Poor Boyz' film (and could potentially win at the Powder Awards too) and this was his first official year being 'pro.' If that's not breakout, then we don't know what is.

Anna Segal- Ski
Anna won X-Games Slopestyle last February and is paving a new path for the next generation of Women's ski slopestyle.



Best Comeback Shredder:

Ross Powers- Snowboard
You may remember Ross "The Boss" Powers winning the gold medal in Salt Lake, City Olympics for Halfpipe back in 2002. Now the solid shredder is looking to represent the US of A in the Vancouver Olympic games in boardercross. Duel sport Olympian? We're all about it. Here's his podium performance at the recent Telluride World Cup.




Tara Dakides - Snowboard
Known as the first woman pro snowboarder- Dakides flew to stardom with her flawless style and fearless attitude. Now as the young guns slide into the spotlight for freestyle shredding, Dakides is back in action on the boardercross side of things. (Must be a new trend) And of course, Tara still holds it down and is dominating.

TJ Schiller- Ski
TJ Schiller overcame a blown-out knee to come back and win the 2009 Winter X-Games. Impressive to say the least.

Kaya Turski- Ski
After sitting out of skiing for almost two years with injuries, Kaya Turski came back in 2009 and podiumed at every single Slopestyle competition she entered. She won most of them and is the comeback threat of the year in the world of girls freeskiing.



Mega Movie Part Must See:

Jp Walker in "This Video Sucks"- Snowboard
JP Walker's part in StepChild's "This Video Sucks" is super progressive, and really impressive. His entire part is done switch. Crazy, but true- Peep the trailer here.

Jenny Jones in "Stance" -Snowboard
Jenny Jones' part in "Stance" is epic. It's a definite must see for 2009. Jenny makes girls snowboarding fun to watch. Get teased here.

Shane McConkey in MSP's "In Deep"- Ski
It's his final segment. Its more than a must-see, It's a tribute.



Ingrid Backstrom in MSP's "In Deep"- Ski
Ingrid rips big mountain harder than most dudes. Especially in her part in this years "In Deep."



Friendliest Competitor Award:

Chaz Guldemond-Snowboard
Smiling here, and patting the back of his competitors there, Chaz Guildemon easily won our hearts as he is arguably the nicest guy in snowboarding- Keep smiling bud- We love you for it!

Torah Bright- Snowboard
Torah- competitor and comrade. Photo: www.nateabbott.com
The Australian sweetheart Roxy rider is our women's snowboard pick for friendliest competitor. If you've ever glanced her earnest smile or met her in person than you know why. She is always super nice, at least until you pick a fight with her. See what we're talking about here

TJ Schiller- Ski
TJ Schiller is the nicest, most approachable pro in skiing. Seems like Schiller is always grinning. Just look at his sweet baby face!

Sarah Burke- Ski
This was an easy pick. Sarah's been the queen bee of the ski girls for years and all of their biggest inspiration. She's always willing to lend a helping hand or sign an autograph for a young fan.


Best Overall Shred Flick:

Skeleton Crew's "Group Effect" - Snowboard
Dirty, Grimy, Raw, & Radical, pretty much sums up this banger video. Check out the whole thing here. Bingo!


Poor Boyz Productions' "Every Day is a Saturday"- Ski
It's just dayum good. It speaks for itself- be sure to check it out.





Urban Rail Rippers:

LNP- Snowboard
Bursting on the scene with long hair and a beefy beard, Rome's LNP (Laurent Nicolas Paquin) grabbed our attention with his slick style on and off the rails. Watch and learn with his Trick-tip vid (BS 180 to Rail) here



Laura Hadar-Snowboard
Capita's only lady Pro shred wins this award for the simple fact that she destroys it. You just can't deny it. (P.S. She's back from injury this year and on-fire!)

Phil Casabon-Ski
Phil laid down one of the most impressive urban segments of all time in Level 1's Refresh.

Kaya Turski- Ski
In the skiing world Kaya is one of the only girls that goes after the Urban. Get some.



Did That Just Happen? Standout Moments of the Year:


Kevin Pearce-Snowboard
Remember back in January when Kevin almost beat Shaun in halfpipe during Winter X? It was super close, but Shaun ended up with the controversial win. We all know KP has the skills to take down Shaun, so will 2010 be his lucky year? Time will only tell. (Ed update: Kevin was seriously hurt on New Years Eve while training pipe in Park City. GrindTV.com will be updating his recovery.)


Kevin Pearce going HUGE at the 2009 Winter X Games where he barely missed taking the Gold. Photo: www.nateabbott.com

Gretchen Belier- Snowboard
Aspen's home town hero was expected to throw down at this year's X-games, but a buckle on the lip made GB crash to the flats. The fall was brutal and took Gretchen out of the contest- check out the harrowing fall that shocked us all-




Gretchen being helped up after her crash at the 2009 Winter X Games. Photo: www.nateabbot.com

Tom Wallisch- Ski
Tom has the best style in skiing. He standouts every run, just because his style makes it look so fun.

Ingrid Backstrom- Ski
Ingrid wins this award for her balls to the walls shredding of big AK lines. Again, check out "In Deep". The proof is in the pudding.


Well, there you have it. Congrats to the winners and bring on 2010!

Happy New Year everyone. With love, The GrindTV Editorial Crew.

Words by Jeff Schmuck
Photos by Nate Abbott & Alex O'Brien/K2 skis

On March 26th of this year, legendary skier, base jumper, father, husband, friend, icon, hero and all-around amazing human being Shane McConkey was killed in a base jumping accident in Italy. He was 39.



To say that Shane was one of the most influential skiers ever would be an understatement of grand proportions, and to say that his death shocked and saddened skiers all over the world, from the ones who knew him personally to the ones who never met him would be an even bigger one.



Shane left behind a wife, Sherry, a 3-year-old daughter, Ayla, an immeasurable number of fans who idolized him, and a legacy that will undoubtedly never be forgotten in the sport of skiing. He was a true pioneer of the freeskiing movement, appeared in too many ski magazines and movies to count, was the first person to combine skiing and BASE-jumping, and revolutionized the way people now ski powder by designing the first ever reverse sidecut and reverse camber fat skis (similar to the shape of a waterski and surfboard).



Since the beginning of his career, Shane primarily worked with one ski film company only, Matchstick Productions. The Crested Butte, Colorado-based company was hit hard by Shane's death, and in the wake of his passing set out to create their most loyal athlete and friend's final segment. The end result not only captures Shane's history, talent, personality, humor, good nature and overall zest for life better than ever before, but it is also one of the most fitting tributes ever created in action sports history.



The segment was recently made available online, and there is no finer way to see what Shane was all about while saying good-bye to the most influential skier of all time.



RIP Shane McConkey. December 30, 1969 - March 26, 2009

JT Holmes, also a Squaw local and professional skier, was with Shane in Italy when he died. See what he has to say below:

Yesterday, March 26, 2009, Shane died while skiing in Italy. There are some technical aspects that are left out from this statement, and it does not touch upon the beauty of the Dolomites and the skiing we shared before the accident or Shane's typical shining persona, full of adventure, humor and life experience.

We chose to ski off of a cliff with our wingsuits and fly them away from the cliff wall before opening our parachutes for landing. We skied and hiked off of the Pordoi cable car to a spot Shane had base jumped once before, in the summer. We spent a bunch of time preparing for the jump, building a kicker, helping each other gear up, and finally we were pleased and prepared and went for it.

Shane did a double back flip in perfect McConkey style. As planned, afterwards, he went to release his skis in order to fly away from the wall and safely deploy his parachute. This is where the jump went wrong. He was not able to release either of his skis. He remained focused on releasing them by reaching down towards his bindings. This put him into a spin/ tumble/ unstable falling style, that may have appeared out of his control, but in reality, Shane was not concerned about flying position or style; just concerned with reaching those skis so that he could get them off and fly or deploy his parachute. He succeeded in releasing both of skis and immediately transitioned into a perfect flying position; then he impacted the snow, and died at that moment.

The whole thing took place in about 12 seconds. Once he released the skis, he was immediately in control of the flight and would have only seen the ground and imminent impact for a tiny fraction of a second before he hit. Shane's parachute did not malfunction; it was never deployed.

- JT Holmes
March 27, 2009