Freeskier Cody Townsend Discusses Finishing The Fifty Project and Balancing Risk as a New Father

Looking for the definition of a modern explorer, only with an emphasis on high-performance? Then Cody Townsend is an adventurer for the ages. And what a cool human to boot. If you hadn’t heard, Cody is in the middle of an epic project, The Fifty, where he’s attempting to climb, and then ride, all of the lines in the book, The 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America. Now, classic to some means straight up gnarly to others. It's all in one's perspective. But Cody is tackling them all, regardless.

The longtime freeskier who’s starred in hugely influential movies like Days of My Youth, started a vlog to document the project. But something crazy happened as he moved through The Fifty: the YouTube channel's popularity grew, not because of his audacious descents (which were notable), but because of his relatable personality. Cody brings it in a way skiers, snowboarders, and even non mountain people, can relate to. We talked with Cody about The Fifty's success, if he can actually finish it, and balancing danger with fatherhood (lest we forget he's a new dad). Enjoy.