Salt Lake City (Ski Press)-The inaugural Ski Salt Lake Shootout culminated this past weekend with an awards dinner to remember at Snowbird’s Aerie Restaurant. In a nutshell: great food, good company, a wealth of conversation after a week’s worth of amazing imagery, and most importantly—a healthy dose of prize money awarded to the winners of the Shootout.
Bellingham, Washington-based photographer Grant Gunderson took home the Best in Show Grand Prize and a $4,000.00 check with his mind-blowing shot of Bryce Phillips making a powder turn under star-trailed skies above Little Cottonwood Canyon. Up until 4:30 am the night before the judging deadline, Gunderson spilled the beans about this long sought-after shot.
“This shot really means a lot to me due to the fact that so many variables had to come together for it to work. I got the idea for this two years ago, and then it took me about a year to figure out the technicalities of how to make it work, and then another year to get the right combination of conditions. To see the image win Best in Show is hugely satisfying.”

Hoots and hollers prevailed as competing athletes and photographers alike viewed a week’s worth of action during a 15-minute slideshow of the event.
Ski Salt Lake Marketing and Media Manager and event organizer Adam Barker said, “This has been a spectacular week of hard work and dedication on the part of all the participating athletes and photographers. We couldn’t ask for a better way to showcase the snow, terrain and beauty that sum up the Ski Salt Lake Experience.”
As Ski Salt Lake’s media partner in the Shootout, Ski Press Magazine will feature the winning images in the Ski Now! Issue of 2009. Video slideshows of the winning images, video interviews with the photographers and a compilation video of the entire week will be found at www.ski-saltlake.com and www.skipressworld.com. Below is a list of the winners pertaining to each image category (listed as photographer/athlete duos).

Best in Show
Grant Gunderson/Bryce Phillips
Air
Winner: Bryan Ralph/Sage Cattabriga-Alosa
2nd Place: Damian Cromwell/Dan Treadway
3rd Place: Grant Gunderson/Bryce Phillips & Sage Cattabriga-Alosa
Powder
Winner: Tony Harrington/Ben Wheeler
2nd Place: Hank De Vre/Rob Greener
3rd Place: Damian Cromwell/Dan Treadway
Big Mountain
Winner: Tony Harrington/Jamie Pierre
2nd Place: Tony Harrington/Jason West
3rd Place: Jay Beyer/Andy Jacobsen
Mountain Lifestyle
Winner: Re Wikstrom/Pip Hunt
2nd Place: Tony Harrington/Ben Wheeler
3rd Place: Grant Gunderson/Bryce Phillips
City Lifestyle
Winner: Grant Gunderson/Bryce Phillips
2nd Place: Tony Harrington/Ben Murphy & Jamie Pierre
3rd Place: Bryan Ralph/Cody Barnhill and Tyler Knoles