Snow Porn: Must-see ski and snowboard movies at The Meeting in Aspen

​As if the explosion of Fall color isn't reason enough to drive over Independence Pass this weekend headed for Aspen, tonight is also the NEPSA Video Awards ceremony at 7 p.m. at the Wheeler Opera House, the official kickoff of The Meeting, Aspen's 7th annual ski & snowboard film festival.

The NEPSA Awards (that's Aspen, spelled backwards) is a shorts competition pitting local filmmakers against each other with three- to five-minute films in themed categories (this year's themes include Environmentalism, Secrets of Aspen, and the Muppets), with $3,500 on the line. Afterwards, follow the crowd over to the Belly Up for the D&E Snow Fashion Show at 10 p.m., a screening of the Burton Snowboards team film Standing Sideways, and a musical performance by Robotic Pirate Monkey.

On Friday the Wheeler Opera House hosts two screening sessions:

The first, at 5 p.m., features ski films The Grand Bizarre (Poor Boyz Productions), and After Dark (from Denver-based Level 1 Productions).

The second, at 8:30 p.m., features Brain Farm Digital Cinema's snowboard epic The Art of Flight (don't miss the Westword Show + Tell interview with snowboarder Travis Rice for more on The Art of Flight)

Afterwards, take the gondola up to the Sundeck on Aspen Mountain for 10:30 p.m. screenings of That's Fine (Voleurz) and One For The Road (Teton Gravity Research), and an Aspen-style after-party.