The Future of The Fifty: Cody Townsend Considers What’s Left to Accomplish

By Anneka Williams — For the last four years, Cody Townsend has chased the most noteworthy ski descents on the North American continent—at least those detailed in the book 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America—while documenting his missions in his show, The Fifty Project. More than 40 lines later, the project has taken its toll and Townsend is rethinking how he wants to complete the final descents.

Last winter, Cody Townsend and his film crew were slogging through the approach to a ski line while producing an episode of The Fifty Project. As his skis cut a skintrack, Townsend recalls looking wistfully across the valley at an enticing descent, thinking “I want to ski that more than anything right now.” But, bound by a specific list of ski lines, Townsend was compelled to shift his focus back to the approach at hand. That moment, though, gnawed at him.