The dude, as we know him. Listen up below.
Editor’s Note: This feature is presented by our partners at Decked.com
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.
And this is all while doing something hugely complicated: riding mountains that have a personality all their own. They don’t just let you climb them, then shred any face you’d like. No, they have personality. And Cody has mastered the art of working with each mountain’s individual moods. Mostly because he doesn’t want to get killed. But also because you can tell that the guy has really solid instincts regarding when to send it, and when to sit it out. Translation? He doesn’t have a gigantic ego.
This made for great conversation on The Inertia Podcast. 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.
