Ingrid Backstrom

San Leandro, CA- January 31, 2005- Freeskier Ingrid Backstrom left the Hotel Jerome in Aspen, CO with three awards this past Saturday night at Powder Magazine's 2005 Video and Reader's Poll Awards. For her segments in Matchstick Production’s film, Yearbook, Backstrom was awarded "Best Female Performance" and "Breakthrough Performance" (the first female skier to ever win this distinction). Also announced were the results of Powder Magazine's 2005 Reader’s Poll for favorite female skier where Backstrom landed at #2.

"The Powder Video Awards were awesome," said a modest Backstrom after a transportation fiasco that caused her to miss the actual awards ceremony. "Even though I got there late, it was still so amazing to walk into a room full of smiling friends. I was blown away to receive three awards-it’s such a huge honor to be recognized by people whose opinions I value so much."

Considered the Academy Awards of the skiing industry, the Powder Video Awards honor the ski world’s best filmmakers and top athletes in categories such as Best Line, Best Male Performance, Movie of the Year, Photo of the Year, and the Full Throttle Award. Additionally, the show features the Reader Poll Awards, which name skiing’s top 10 male and top five female skiers of the year as determined by votes from the readers of Powder Magazine.

Ingrid stole the show in her first year of filming, tackling the hairiest of lines throughout Squaw Valley. CA, B.C. and Alaska and delivering for MSP's Yearbook not only the most impressive women's segment in a ski film to date, but also one of the best segments of the year—gender aside. The Seattle native moved to Squaw Valley in the winter of 2001 after graduating from Washington's Whitman College. Backstrom entered her first big mountain contest in April 2001 and was ranked second in the IFSA's world rankings a year later, a position she's maintained (without ever finishing the three-event Freeskiing World Tour). Last season she won the Canadian Freeskiing Championships and took third at the U.S. Freeskiing Nationals in Snowbird. Backstrom has finished on the podium in 11 of 12 career freeskiing contests. Backstrom has sat atop the podium 11 times in 12 appearances in IFSA sanctioned freeskiing competitions.

Her impressive contest results aside, 2004 was the first year Ingrid skied for a film company, and her ability to step right onto the main stage earned her Best Performance by a Female and Breakthrough performer at the 2005 Powder Video Awards. Her prowess was not lost on the readers or Powder, either, as she debuted on the Powder Reader Poll in 2nd, behind only last year's winner, Sarah Burke. Ingrid's hard-charging style, effortless finesse and unwavering enthusiasm—combined with the best attitude in the biz—ensure this big mountain hero's career has only just begun.