Forrest Coots

Despite the underwhelming winter of 2011-12, in which snowfall reached near record lows and avalanche conditions were unstable around the West, the Powderwhores were able to make the most of the conditions, with trips to Cerro Castillo, Chile; La Grave, France; the Antarctic Peninsula; Svalbard, Norway; British Columbia, Canada, and the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. The film features top backcountry skiers and snowboarders, including Chris Davenport, Jake Sakson, Andrew McLean, Seth Wescott, Dylan Freed, Noah Howell, Matt Reardon, Drew Stoecklein, Forrest Coots, Ian Provo, Neil Provo, Chuck Mumford, Darrell Finlayson, Bob Athey, PY Leblanc, Jason Thompson, Todd Stuart and other mountain characters.

They were cautioned not to travel to Iran. Too dangerous, too restrictive, too unknown. But skiers Chad Sayers and Forrest Coots went anyway. What they found: bustling bazaars, intricately adorned mosques, steamy bathhouses, powder-coated slopes and small pockets of rich ski culture. This poetic film from Jordan Manley is a meditation on a complex country that can be both welcoming and impenetrable, as seen through the eyes of skiers.