Did you watch Henrik Harlaut make ski history last weekend by landing a nose butter triple cork 1620 at the 2013 Winter X Games in Aspen? (That’s shifting his weight to the tips of his skis right before leaving the lip of the jump, then spinning 1620 degrees while flipping three times.)

Just reading about tricks like these makes our stomachs turn—in a good way. We can’t stop watching. The ski film industry has taken note, and Colorado-based production companies like Level 1 and Matchstick Productions (MSP) mean the Centennial state is a hub for ski creativity.

Most recently, Crested Butte-based Two Plank Productions joined these top ranks by winning the 2013 Powder Award for Best P.O.V. for its first feature-length ski film, Because. The Powder Awards (the Oscars of the ski industry), now in their 13th year, kicked off the Sundance Film Festival earlier this month. Because features professional skiers Topher Plimpton and Corey Felton straight-lining their skis in tandem through a narrow passage choked by gnarly crags (it’s an unnamed chute in the Crested Butte backcountry that was first pioneered by skier Tyson Bolduc in 2008).

Two Plank was founded by director Corey Tibljas in 1997, and the company started by editing day-to-day footage of friends and professional athletes into five 30-minute short films. After awhile, the crew began to ponder their purpose and asking why they are drawn to skiing.

To provide a response, Two Plank realized that they would need to make a longer film, a project which became Because. From pre-planning to post production, the film took three years to complete. The footage (captured with RED Scarlet, Canon 7D, and Sony Xd cameras) features 22 athletes captured in locations all over the world, from Japan to British Columbia and, of course, Colorado.

Judging from the success of their debut effort, we hope Two Plank has a few more questions to answer—and tricks to capture on film.

Watch it: Because is now available on DVD and iTunes. Visit twoplank.com for more information.

—Image courtesy of Powder Magazine