The Beating Results

The Beating Film Festival and nossaTV Action Sports Video have announced the winners of this year's festival. With the exception of the viewers choice and overall awards, these awards were created by the judges at the festival to best reflect the "undiscovered talent" of the contestants.

Hand Cut - Las Lenas by Nick Waggoner of Sweetgrass Productions was the runaway winner of the Viewer's Choice Award held on nossaTV, and also took home the judge's Best Inspiration award.


Dear Silverton, Love Aspen from Mike Cuseo easily won the Best Pillow Lines award.

A Film By Matt Mulligan of Shadow Puppet Productions took home the Best Nutter award.

Furthermore, by Jason Ebelheiser and the San Juan Pirates, earned Best Edit.

SASS 2007 by Skylar Holgate of South America Snow Sessions won Best Method.

Black Magic by Drew Lederer of Fatman Productions was the overall runner up.

Finally, There's Always Something, a seemless integration of "big mountain skiing on Red (Mountain) and jibb'n at the terrain park," by George Knowles won both Most Original award and the Overall competition.

A snowboarder, Knowles takes home a pair of K2 Pontoons. While he was overheard musing about a possible switch to the dark side, one has to wonder if a single Pontoon, with a 130mm waist, might work as a snowboard. Knowles also earns a tour of Studio411 in Los Angeles, a career accelerator if there ever was one.

The 2nd annual version of The Beating attracted a standing room only crowd at the Miner Theater in Silverton. It was an appropriate kick-off to the weekend, as the San Juans were in the path of the major winter storm pounding the Western U.S. A couple feet of fresh welcomed powder hounds at Silverton Mountain on Saturday morning, and it kept coming down all day.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature also caused a premature end to the weekend's powder festivities. A massive natural avalanche covered the road to the mountain on Sunday, leaving a reported 15 feet of avalanche debris. Best guesses in town put the overnight snowfall at 2-1/2 more feet of fresh snow at the base of Silverton. The storm also closed Red Mountain, Molas, and Cole Bank Passes effectively isolating the town of Silverton from access to the outside world. Stranded shred-heads were forced to survive on the 200 feet of vertical at Kendal Mountain in town. Silverton expects to be open for business on Thursday, and you can bet it will be all-time conditions!