Cody Townsend’s The Fifty – Attempt Number Two on Comstock Couloir, British Columbia
Mountainwatch | Video
In this episode of The Fifty, Cody Townsend’s project to climb and ski all of the lines named in the book, The 50 Great Ski Descents of North America, Cody and Bjarne Salen return to the backcountry Rogers Pass, outside Revelstoke, British Columbia for their second attempt on Comstock Couloir.
Comstock is a challenging remote line that requires a 14.5km walk covering 2133.6m vertical, an overnight camp, exposed ridge walking and technical climbing. Comstock is a 914-metre line with a skiing pitch of 45-50 degrees that is challenging and remote, requiring a 14.5km walk covering 2133.6m vertical, an overnight camp, exposed ridge walking and technical climbing.
On their first attempt on Comstock, the Fifty crew were skunked by the weather, wind and poor visibility forcing them to pull the pin when they were half way through the final climb. However, this time it was looking good with a two-day weather window, so Cody and Bjarne made the call to drive 2000 miles from Tahoe to Rogers Pass, where they linked up with Greg Hill, who was involved in last year’s attempt, Mali Noyes and Spencer Harkins for another attempt at one that got away last season.
From The Fifty: An episode that opens up some of the philosophy behind the project, the irony of this objective based dream and why a lot of us go into the mountains.
“The great irony of this whole project is that I chose an objective-based, checkmark project when I’m philosophically actually really against that style of being in the mountains.” – Cody Townsend
The Fifty documents Cody Townsend’s journeys, travels, challenges and each line and mountain listed in the book, The 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America. It’s a journey through the most majestic mountains and ski lines in North America along with a unique insight into how skiers make decisions in the backcountry, how they plan, navigate and safely move through the mountains and the people that dedicate their lives to the mountains. Stay up to date on Cody and filmmaker Bjarne Salen’s progress on The Fifty website Instagram page.
