A Mirror in the Mountains

Cody Townsend’s ambitious project, The Fifty, is a deep journey into the skier’s soul

By Donny O'Neil—”I pick up Cody Townsend from the Hestra USA headquarters in Arvada, Colorado, on a warm October day. He’s in town for the premiere of Peak Obsession, a short film showcasing his climb and ski of the mighty Meteorite Peak in Alaska with legendary snowboarder Jeremy Jones.

The movie is a spin-off of The Fifty, Townsend’s video series documenting his ambitious venture to climb and ski all of the inclusions in the 2010 book, Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America—a coffee table fixture for many backcountry skiers—in three years. Today, I’m joining him on a training hike as part of his preparation for a second winter of ticking off lines.” READ >