Sphinx — THE FIFTY

The Sphinx, Southeast Ridge

A jaw dropping line in a range known for jaw dropping lines // [o] @ming.t.poon — A jaw dropping line in a range known for jaw dropping lines // **[o]** **@ming.t.poon**

Elevation: 6299’ 1820m

Aspect: North

Vertical: 1,800’

Coordinates: 60°40’00”N 145°04’13”W

First descent: Rippy, Coombs

“The Sphinx is one of the most jaw-dropping lines in the entire Chugach Range. It is sustained 50-degree-plus skiing with the added danger of the entire upper face funneling into the gully above the exit. You better be good a slough management on the Sphinx . . . or take it slow and easy.” (FCSDofNA)

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering. All the rest are merely games.”

— Ernest Hemingway

In 2019, The FIFTY sent it up to Alaska to attempt the modern classic, The Sphinx. But the puckering steeps, cruel exposure and hardpack conditions sent the crew home with their tail between their legs and the line unfinished. Three years of watching the weather, conditions and stability from thousands of miles away and a miraculous window beckons in April of 2022. A mad dash scramble the day after skiing Line 37 of The FIFTY leads to a strike mission to Cordova, AK and the base of Points North Heli.

An out-of-the-blue call leads Cody and Bjarne on a last second adventure to the mecca of steep and deep, Alaska. With conditions seeming to line up, they head to one of the most iconic ski lines in Alaska, the Sphinx, to attempt to climb and ski its legendary steeps.