Words by Ed Dujardin/West Elk Project

This Friday night, Two Plank Productions held the world premiere of its newest feature film, “Because,” in a buzzing and packed Grand Ballroom in Mt. Crested Butte, Colorado. Anticipation was high as “Because” is Two Plank Productions biggest project to date, with filming spanning over the past two seasons. The addition of a third unit film crew allowed Two Plank to extend its coverage of the ski world to heights never before reached by the small film company from Crested Butte. This fact quickly became evident to the people in the crowd who have watched Two Plank grow from an operation run by two teenagers (Corey Tibljas and Ben Somrak) in 1999, to one that uses the highest grade equipment in remote regions all over the world.

After the large gathering of excited viewers settled into the venue, they were treated to a surplus of giveaways and raffles that added to the stoked atmosphere. Following a quick intro, the film opened up to the Run-Around crew shredding jaw-dropping lines on sled access terrain in the Tetons. However, the noise amplitude went through the roof when the crew moved south to the Crested Butte backcountry, where Topher Plimpton and Corey Felton point it down an enormous, yet incredibly skinny straight-line on Purple Mountain (one of the more notable peaks in the CB backcountry). The film travels on to various locations around the globe, including British Colombia, Japan, Montana, the Pacific Northwest, and closing in Alaska. “Because” goes out with a bang, as Lexi Dupont, Colter Hinchliffe and Leo Ahrens take advantage of perfect conditions and ski incredible spines in Haines, AK.

In “Because,” Two Plank Productions does well in sticking to its roots of big-mountain skiing. The film does not feature a park segment (backcountry booters are included), which was fine with the Crested Butte audience of predominately big-mountain oriented skiers. While the film does access remote locations, it is done so without the budget of the bigger ski movies. In “Because,” Two Plank demonstrates that the right skiers with a strong desire to get to the goods can produce a very strong and appealing movie, as was demonstrated by the crowd’s enthusiasm.  After the show, owner Corey Tibljas commented, “The evening went great. I believe the stoke of the crowd reflected the extra effort and quality that went into this movie.”