The FIFTY

[Dantheman]

This is why I've told a half dozen parents who's kids are interested in getting into the backcountry -- besides avalanche awareness and education -- there are few better ways to spend an hour or two than watching Fifty episodes and talking about them as a family.

Also a good lesson in the fact that, despite what you see in most ski films, more often than not BC skiing is shitloads of effort to ski shit snow and be happy just to have made it back to the car alive.

[rod9301]

Also a good lesson in the fact that, despite what you see in most ski films, more often than not BC skiing is shitloads of effort to ski shit snow and be happy just to have made it back to the car alive.

So true. Most people though, getting into it, think it's all about skiing powder.

I've been backcountry skiing for 25 years, and recently i was thinking how much my skiing has improved because i learned to ski shitty snow that i would seldom find on a resort.



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[jackstraw]

So true. Most people though, getting into it, think it's all about skiing powder.

Umm, but yeah, it is all about Powdah! ...and Corn!

[Anachronist]

[twat]

Cody, nice show, i really enjoyed it. It doesnt matter if you ski the line or not imo. I enjoy watching your adventures in the bc. I think a whole generation of backcountry skiers are inspired by your missions. Also big up bjarnes work!

So to finish it with OSHO:
"There is no goal, life is the goal."

[doebedoe]

Also a good lesson in the fact that, despite what you see in most ski films, more often than not BC skiing is shitloads of effort to ski shit snow and be happy just to have made it back to the car alive.

Tshirt material here

"backcountry skiing: shitloads of effort to ski shit snow and be happy to have made it to the car alive"

[doebedoe]

What in the actual fuck. Wild.

Gotta say though...releasing it like this feels pretty icky. No reason that this has to be the first of the season on his channel besides riding The Fifty's coattails.

[grinch]

Also a good lesson in the fact that, despite what you see in most ski films, more often than not BC skiing is shitloads of effort to ski shit snow and be happy just to have made it back to the car alive.

So true. Most people though, getting into it, think it's all about skiing powder.

I've been backcountry skiing for 25 years, and recently i was thinking how much my skiing has improved because i learned to ski shitty snow that i would seldom find on a resort.



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Huh? I guess ive been lucky for 30 yrs. 95% of the days have been powder. If im climbing im aiming for untouched fresh

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[jackstraw]

Huh? I guess ive been lucky for 30 yrs. 95% of the days have been powder. If im climbing im aiming for untouched fresh

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Because you're doing it right. You're also not trying to knock off the 50 gnarly lines like Cody. And he is getting some decent turns in here and there, but obviously stability is number one priority with most of his lines. Not that yours aren't either, but it's probably more meadow skipping pow runs in stable pow conditions.

[Peruvian]

Michael Wirth grabbed a solo descent of the Comstock (the 2nd?) with a day trip in early April. Looking forward to the Canadian content in the next episodes.

That vid is now up on utoob.

[powdork]

What in the actual fuck. Wild.

Gotta say though...releasing it like this feels pretty icky. No reason that this has to be the first of the season on his channel besides riding The Fifty's coattails.

Cody releases his in the fall when it is most advantageous for his sponsors. Do you not think Wirth has sponsors for his channel as well?

[powdork]

Huh? I guess ive been lucky for 30 yrs. 95% of the days have been powder. If im climbing im aiming for untouched fresh

Exactly. If I'm happy I made it back to the car alive that means I must have fucked up pretty bad. I find I am skiing shitty snow much more often in the resort than out. Most of the young rippers become that way from skiing at the resort every day regardless of conditions.
But in the BC my goal is to ski really good snow without tracks or pressures. When you start talking about specific big mountain goals then the quality of the snow is no longer the top priority. Both are still BC skiing.

[grinch]

Because you're doing it right. You're also not trying to knock off the 50 gnarly lines like Cody. And he is getting some decent turns in here and there, but obviously stability is number one priority with most of his lines. Not that yours aren't either, but it's probably more meadow skipping pow runs in stable pow conditions.

They seemed to be talking about "bc" skiing in general.
Besides, i prefer to ski 50⁰ slopes with atleast some pow. They seem a lot steeper when theyre bulletproof. But then im not on a schedule

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[grinch]

Exactly. If I'm happy I made it back to the car alive that means I must have fucked up pretty bad. I find I am skiing shitty snow much more often in the resort than out. Most of the young rippers become that way from skiing at the resort every day regardless of conditions.
But in the BC my goal is to ski really good snow without tracks or pressures. When you start talking about specific big mountain goals then the quality of the snow is no longer the top priority. Both are still BC skiing.

Yes, i guess id call it ski mountaineering at that point. Its harder to forecast steep exposed lines deep in the mts at ridgetop so sometimes you just have to go and see on your best guess. My tick list isnt so imperative, or even necessary for that matter, so decent snow/turns/forecasting is part of my goal. Although i do acutely remember those bulletproof pucker lines where my forecasting was poor. Slid out a couple times with my tail tucked between my legs but only a couple and i liked to think ive learned not to do that again. 99.9% of the time "making it back to the car" thoughts are reserved to me underestimating the length of the day compared to my fitness

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[Ørion]

Cody releases his in the fall when it is most advantageous for his sponsors. Do you not think Wirth has sponsors for his channel as well?

Wirth did 31 of the 50 lines in a single season. It would be a remarkable coincidence if he happened to chose this particular line to premier so closely behind Cody's own attempt, it is not just that he started releasing in the fall too.

More power to him, getting an audience off the ground is a brutal undertaking and I can't blame him for using the opportunity, but I can see why such a calculated move leaves some people with a bad taste in their mouth.

Of course, it could be more coincidental than it appears, it is the second-ever descent of a relatively famous line. Might have been the natural choice for a splashy premier and the only calculation may have been releasing it a touch earlier to ride the wave of "the Comstock is currently trending" rather than riding Cody's name brand specifically.

[Alkasquawlik]

Excited for this season, Cody! Thank you for sharing the stoke. Been watching past episodes all summer eagerly awaiting the new season.

As we were just watching the Comstock episode, my wife asked “I wonder what music Cody listens to?” So I have to ask, what’s on the current rotation? [emoji869]

A lot to cover in this thread, but I'll start here. Most probably don't want to know what I listen to as it's kind of all over the place. Right now, it's back to my roots of listening to a lot of metal (a lot of thrash and black metal). But I go in heavy phases from a lot of chill electronic to 90's hip hop, to classic rock to folk/country...mainly I listen to most music except jam bands and pop.

So true. Most people though, getting into it, think it's all about skiing powder.

I've been backcountry skiing for 25 years, and recently i was thinking how much my skiing has improved because i learned to ski shitty snow that i would seldom find on a resort.

I kind of found new joy in skiing shitty snow. Of course pow is the best by far and I'll always enjoy pow, which is what we seek most of the time backcountry skiing. But for big lines, where I prioritize safety above all else, I can relish the challenge of skiing shit snow over exposure or in the steeps. It makes you focus heavily on your technique, your mentality and your strategy. As I've gotten older, I find that stuff fun.

What in the actual fuck. Wild.

Gotta say though...releasing it like this feels pretty icky. No reason that this has to be the first of the season on his channel besides riding The Fifty's coattails.

So I was very familiar with Michael's descent of the Comstock and Michael himself. He had reached out the summer before for help, mentorship, etc. We've been in touch quite a bit over the past year. But moving on, he actually did it in-between the time we shot the intro and went out for our attempt. The physical challenge and boldness of his ascent and descent is without a doubt fucking impressive. There were a lot of other details from that day that were left out of the video. I hesitate to share those observations publicly as I already shared my thoughts to Michael privately in some lengthy phone calls, and that's all that matters really. Plus, I could easily see a public critique to be interpreted wrongly and attributed to incorrect motivations. So all in all, that's why I've been quiet about it despite knowing about it. And it mentioning it in our video didn't happen because it didn't really fit both the episode and my philosophy on mountains. I mean, if you all remember from the Terminal Cancer video, I tend to make light of flaunting numbered descents. I mean, they do mean something for sure but I just personally do not like the ego-centric nature of claiming first, second, third...whatever. It's why even in the intro of the episode, which was shot before the potential 2nd descent, I don't go out of my way to hype that up because it's really not that big of a deal to me. It's all first for you if that's the first time you ski it and that's kind of the only thing that matters in my mind.

As far as release timing, I just think it's because he's most proud of that line and he wanted to out first for his series to garner the most attention. Just a coincidence of timing really.

[twat]

I wanted to write cody invented a genre, the schlepping gear big project back country mounteneering suffervest. But actually it was jeremy jones. So cody is riding jeremy's wake on skis. And some guy is trying to beat cody on his projekt. Fair enough. There are other skimo guys doing big long lines and documenting it. Yes or No i am not watching it. And now there is competition for who is the first. Hope it increases both their clicks. Thats what it is all about. And the smiles 😃

[twat]

So i correct myself, it is not about being the first.

[Alkasquawlik]

I wanted to write cody invented a genre, the schlepping gear big project back country mounteneering suffervest. But actually it was jeremy jones. So cody is riding jeremy's wake on skis. And some guy is trying to beat cody on his projekt. Fair enough. There are other skimo guys doing big long lines and documenting it. Yes or No i am not watching it. And now there is competition for who is the first. Hope it increases both their clicks. Thats what it is all about. And the smiles ��

There definitely is a direct line of inspiration from Jeremy to The FIFTY. While many other ski mountaineers were out there climbing and skiing bad ass lines around the world, Jer was the first from my perspective that was taking a human powered approach to freeride lines, which inspired me the most when I was strictly a freerider who hated touring. I will say, if I do have to credit myself for one thing, it would be the taking of Jer's media style to an episodic approach to it all. A sort of watch this years long story develop in real time.

Lastly, if there is competition to be first it's not coming from me. Michael has told me that he has other projects / expeditions on the mind for the future. Doesn't mean he might not try to go for the rest but ultimately, I cannot feel the pressure of a 'race' to the fifty because bringing that egotistical approach to the mountains will drastically increase the chances I break rule number 1 of the project, which is don't die. Also rule number 2 for me, which is have fun and bringing competition into it all just makes it all not fun.

[Danno]

It's all first for you if that's the first time you ski it and that's kind of the only thing that matters in my mind.

FKNA!

[Supermoon]

Lastly, if there is competition to be first it's not coming from me. Michael has told me that he has other projects / expeditions on the mind for the future. Doesn't mean he might not try to go for the rest but ultimately, I cannot feel the pressure of a 'race' to the fifty because bringing that egotistical approach to the mountains will drastically increase the chances I break rule number 1 of the project, which is don't die. Also rule number 2 for me, which is have fun and bringing competition into it all just makes it all not fun.

It’s really cool to see this perspective instead of the “have to be first, have to be biggest, fuck ‘em” attitude you see from lots of people. Your respect for the mountains, and going into them with humility is very admirable.

[snowaddict91]

It’s really cool to see this perspective instead of the “have to be first, have to be biggest, fuck ‘em” attitude you see from lots of people. Your respect for the mountains, and going into them with humility is very admirable.

That's why he's the GOAT

But seriously, thanks for taking the time to type out your thoughts, Cody. Seeing other people's philosophy in the mountains has really taught me a lot.

[Danno]

It’s really cool to see this perspective instead of the “have to be first, have to be biggest, fuck ‘em” attitude you see from lots of people. Your respect for the mountains, and going into them with humility is very admirable.

Truth. And all of us are following this project because of how cool it is, how we enjoy each episode. I think I speak for everyone in this thread when I say that I want Cody to finish because that would be cool, but if one line continues to elude him, or the safety aspect looms too large at some point, and he stops, it won't reduce my enjoyment of having watched the pursuit. The finishing first or even finishing at all isn't my objective in watching.

[::: :::]

+1

[bodywhomper]

That's why he's the GOAT

But seriously, thanks for taking the time to type out your thoughts, Cody. Seeing other people's philosophy in the mountains has really taught me a lot.

IMO, that last episode had 4 GOATs