The Fifty By Cody Townsend

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In the never ending quest to make The FIFTY more difficult, Cody Townsend is joined by legendary rock climber and free soloist Alex Honnold to attempt to link together the lowest spot in North America, Badwater Basin (-282' below sea level) with the highest spot in the continental United States, Mt. Whitney (14,505' above sea level) via a 135 mile bike ride linked to a climb and ski of the Mountaineers Route on Mt. Whitney. Alex is no stranger to sufferfests and joins in on a long time goal of his own, but done in a manner that he is not very familiar with...on skis.

This is Episode 30 for The FIFTY, and line 33 of 50 completed by Cody Townsend. The FIFTY is a project following Cody Townsend as he attempts to climb and ski all fifty of the lines and mountains chronicled in the book, "The 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America." The series documents Townsend's journey's, travels, challenges and each line and mountain listed in the book. It's a journey through the most majestic mountains and ski lines in North America along with a unique insight into how skiers make decisions in the backcountry, how they plan, navigate and safely move through the mountains along with the people that dedicate their lives to the mountains.
 

 

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So you want to ski some big backcountry lines... So much of the process to climbing and skiing big mountain objectives is predicated on the research and planning that takes places in the weeks and days leading up to your adventure. This episode explains some of that process and shows how trip planning can be the difference between success and failure in the mountains while going out to attempt to ski an Idahoan classic line, the north face of Devil's Bedstead.

This is Episode 30 for The FIFTY, and line 33 of 50 completed by Cody Townsend. The FIFTY is a project following Cody Townsend as he attempts to climb and ski all fifty of the lines and mountains chronicled in the book, "The 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America." The series documents Townsend's journey's, travels, challenges and each line and mountain listed in the book. It's a journey through the most majestic mountains and ski lines in North America along with a unique insight into how skiers make decisions in the backcountry, how they plan, navigate and safely move through the mountains along with the people that dedicate their lives to the mountains.
 

 

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What happens when The FIFTY goes Freaky Friday and switches it all up?

Heading out to Summit County, CO to ski the classic town backcountry lap, The Silver Couloir on Buffalo Mountain, skier and star Cody Townsend, decides to jump behind the camera and aim the lens on The FIFTY's principle cinematographer, Bjarne Salen. Joined up with Summit County ski mountaineering legend, Teague Holmes, Bjarne and Cody head out for a day that challenges them both as they switch roles for the day. The episode gives a unique insight into how the process of The FIFTY works through highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each person's role.

This is line 35 of 50 of The FIFTY completed by Cody Townsend. The FIFTY is a project following Cody Townsend as he attempts to climb and ski all fifty of the lines and mountains chronicled in the book, "The 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America." The series documents Townsend's journey's, travels, challenges and each line and mountain listed in the book. It's a journey through the most majestic mountains and ski lines in North America along with a unique insight into how skiers make decisions in the backcountry, how they plan, navigate and safely move through the mountains along with the people that dedicate their lives to the mountains.
 

 

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Deep in the Montana wilderness lies a legendary line, skied first by some legendary ski mountaineers. The line, The Patriarch, sits deep in a rocky cleft on the cliff strewn North face of Glacier Peak. Chock full of exposure, steeps and overhead hazards, Cody is joined by two of the world's best ski mountaineers, Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison, to navigate the technical dangerous line. On an unusually cold late spring day, they're met with sub-zero temps, rocky rappels and butt-puckering steeps en route to a successful ascent and descent of a line that rarely gets skied.

This is line 36 of 50 of The FIFTY completed by Cody Townsend. The FIFTY is a project following Cody Townsend as he attempts to climb and ski all fifty of the lines and mountains chronicled in the book, "The 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America." The series documents Townsend's journey's, travels, challenges and each line and mountain listed in the book. It's a journey through the most majestic mountains and ski lines in North America along with a unique insight into how skiers make decisions in the backcountry, how they plan, navigate and safely move through the mountains along with the people that dedicate their lives to the mountains.
 

 

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Along this goal to ski all fifty of "The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America", there lies a few cruxes. A few lines that stand out as the ultimate test for skiers. Lines that have seen one, maybe two, ski descents in history. One such mountain that is on that list is Mt. St. Elias in Alaska.

Mt. St. Elias is a mythical, foreboding peak that jumps straight out of the ocean, 18,008 feet into the sky. It's renowned for violent storms that come straight off the northern pacific and slam into its icy steeps. It is unknown how many people have ever stood on the summit, but it is known that most people that try, fail.

In May of 2021, Cody Townsend, Dan Corn, Nick Russell and cinematographer Bjarne Salen set out to climb and ski this Alaskan beast. This is the tale of their adventure.