Baffin powder: Cody Townsend skiing Baffin Island. Photo: @the.fifty.proejct
Cody Townsend, a multi-dimensional skier (and person), brings his insights to the ski mountaineering realm.
There’s a video clip on YouTube, back from 2014, cataloged by RedBull. You’ve likely seen it. Cody Townsend shimmies on his skis, perched above The Crack, which would become the best ski line of the year. A decade might as well be a lifetime ago.
Since then, Townsend transitioned from ski movie staple to something more arduous and certainly less glamorous (we’re biased), but maybe more fun—ski mountaineering.
For those not tapped into the freeride or ski movie culture, Townsend came into our lives with his The Fifty Project just at the right moment. Townsend and videographer (and badass skier) Bjarne Salen began The Fifty quest in 2019. For now, after three attempts at Mount St. Elias and 46 completed descents, the duo may call it good.
That is neither news to many nor the point of the story. 2019 became 2020, which brought us into the Covid lockdown. The Fifty became a needed spiritual go-to as social isolation became the norm. It is fair to say The Fifty wove its way into the community’s social fabric over the past five years. The project became the topic of many skin-track discussions and post-tour banter sessions. Although we’re pretty certain his legal birth certificate has Cody Townsend emblazoned on it, he’s one of those mononymous folks now, as if we’ve known him for years: “Cody.”
The Sphinx in AK. CT on the ascent. Photo: @the.fifty.project
Over the past five years of The Fifty Project, Cody Townsend’s big-watt-smile and down-to-earth vibe have been a welcome part of the touring community. Photo: @the.fifty.proejct
In this episode of The High Route Podcast, we chat up Cody and get a brief intro to his ski career, but then swim into the deep end of ski mountaineering. We discuss style, the art of the jump turn, and mountain athlete inspiration.
We’re glad to have him as our guest.
If you are new to The High Route, we are a reader and listener-supported enterprise focusing on human-powered turn making. Our mission is simple, but it takes realdeal calorie burning to piece it all together.
We are also excited to announce Issue 1.0 of The High Route magazine is in the works. Fancy paper. Good reads. High-octane photos. And some fine mountain ranges. And some turns. You can learn more about our subscription options here.
The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you’ve spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, “Beautiful Alien” is a good tune to start with.
Thanks for listening,
The High Route Team
Just want to pass along appreciation for the great content you put out. It’s been a big part of my life in the backcountry.