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For all those ski porn addicts out there, this Friday brings with it the 9th annual Powder Magazine Video Awards and Reader Poll. The event will take place at the Jerome Hotel in Aspen and coincides with this year’s Winter X Games which is also happening in Aspen this weekend. So if you have the time and money (and patience), that’s quite obviously the place to be.

The ceremony honors the best in ski films this year in a variety of categories (”Best POV”, “Best Manmade Air”, “Best Natural Air”, “Best Line”, etc.) as well as the top male and female skiers of the year as voted on by POWDER readers. The event notoriously plays host to some of the biggest names in skiing, a who’s who of action sports athletes and industry heavy weights, as well as surprise guests, celebrities and entertainers.

In response to the growing interest and quality of ski films, two new categories have been added this year (”Best Editing” and “Best Cinematography”) to honor the creativity of these filmmakers. Here are the nominees for the best ski film of the year with trailers…

Movie of the Year

Claim by Matchstick Productions

Reasons by Poor Boyz Productions

Under the Influence by Teton Gravity Research

The Massive by Red Bull Moving Pictures

Hunting Yeti by Nimbus Entertainment

Hunting Yeti – Trailer from Freeskier Magazine on Vimeo

The nominees for the remaining video categories are…

Best Point of View (POV)
Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (Under the Influence) by Teton Gravity Research
Jon Hatveit and Andreas Hatveit (Reasons) by Poor Boyz Productions
Tim Durtschi, Jossi Wells & Kris Ostness (44 Days) by Kris Ostness/Atomic
Tim Durtschi, Kevin Brower (44 Days) by Kris Ostness/Atomic

Best Powder
Kyler Coolie, Dylan Natale (Such is Life) by Rage Films
Mark Abma, T.J. Schiller and C.R. Johnson (Claim) by Matchstick Productions
J.P. Auclair and Chris Benchetler (Reasons) by Poor Boyz Productions
Tim Durtschi and Kevin Brower (44 Days) by Kris Ostness/Atomic

Best Line
Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (Under the Influence) byTeton Gravity Research
Eric Hjorleifson (Claim) by Matchstick Productions
Tanner Hall (The Massive) by Red Bull Moving Pictures
Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (Under the Influence) by Teton Gravity Research
Ian McIntosh (Under the Influence) by Teton Gravity Research

Best Manmade Air
Simon Dumont (Claim) by Matchstick Productions
Mike Wilson (Jib Jam) by Poor Boyz Productions
Jacob Wester (Claim) by Matchstick Productions
Pep Fujas (Hunting Yeti) by Nimbus Productions
Ian Cosco (Such is Life) by Rage Films

Best Natural Air
Mark Abma (Reasons) by Poor Boyz Productions
Seth Morrison (Under the Influence) by Teton Gravity Research
Sean Pettit (Claim) by Matchstick Productions
Tanner Hall (The Massive) by Red Bull Moving Pictures

Best Jib
Will Wesson (Head for the Hills) by Meathead Films
Tanner Hall (The Massive) by Red Bull Moving Pictures
Sammy Carlson (Reasons) by Poor Boyz Productions
Will Wesson (Head for the Hills) by Meathead Films
Will Wesson (Turbo) by Level 1 Productions

Best Male Performance
Sage Cattabriga-Alosa (Under the Influence) by Teton Gravity Research
Mark Abma (Claim) by Matchstick Productions
Tanner Hall (The Massive) by Red Bull Moving Pictures
Eric Hjorleifson (Claim) by Matchstick Productions
Sammy Carlson (Reasons) by Poor Boyz Productions

Best Female Performance
Ingrid Backstrom (Claim) by Matchstick Productions
Jamie Burge (Such is Life) by Rage Films
Marja Persson (Satisfaction Guaranteed) by Free Radicals
Jackie Paaso (AK the Hard Way) by Adventure Film Works

Best Concept
The Fine Line by Rocky Mountain Sherpas
AK the Hard Way by Adventure Film Works
Hunting Yeti by Nimbus Entertainment
Hand Cut by Sweetgrass Productions

Best Editing
Hunting Yeti by Nimbus Entertainment
Claim by Matchstick Productions
44 Days by Kris Ostness
The Fine Line by Rocky Mountain Sherpas
Reasons by Poor Boyz Productions

Best Cinematography
Claim by Matchstick Productions
The Massive by Red Bull Moving Pictures
Turbo by Level One Productions
44 Days by Kris Ostness
Under the Influence by Teton Gravity Research

In addition to the Video Awards and the unveiling of the top 10 male and top 5 female POWDER Poll winners, honors will be presented for “Breakthrough Performance” and “Full Throttle.”

This from the PVA homepage…

Roger Ebert has the aisle seat. The late Joel Siegel had the bushy mustache. And Powder, the Skier’s Magazine, has no such gimmicks. Just the responsibility of honoring the best and brightest of the year in ski film at the Ninth Annual Powder Video Awards and Reader Poll, scheduled for January 23rd in Aspen, Colorado. And you have a place too. As tradition dictates, readers are asked to vote for their favorite men and women athletes in the Reader Poll. Will Seth and Shane continue to dominate? Or will someone else knock them off the top spot? With more than 30 ski movies submitted for nomination to the awards show, the magazine’s staff and a select panel of experts from across the industry are now voting for their favorite segments, athlete performances, and overall excellence.

The awards will be announced live at the show, which will be held for the fourth consecutive year at the historic Hotel Jerome in downtown Aspen. Known as the Academy Awards of ski film, the Powder Video Awards and Reader Poll recognizes the year’s best performances and cinematography in ski films.

2009 Powder Magazine Video Awards and Reader Poll