Interview: Cody Townsend's 'The Fifty Project' Is Over- What Comes Next?

Professional big mountain skier Cody Townsend's seminal 'The Fifty Project' has entertained audiences for five years, but now, it's over.

Townsend shocked fans when he released the last episode of the series titled, '46/50 - Bloody Couloir - The End' last week. Check out the episode below and keep scrolling for my short interview with Townsend about 'The Fifty' and what comes next.

Townsend never struck me as a skier who would give up on a project. He's been through enough death-defying conditions and self-described "sh*tty snow" to simply throw in the towel so close to his goal.

In the video, Townsend explains that his pursuit of the last four lines of 'The Fifty' isn't over, and that left me with a few lingering questions.

Check out my short Q&A with Townsend below on why 'The Fifty' had to end, what comes next, and more:

When did you film the last episode of The Fifty on Bloody Couloir?

"It was actually on Memorial Day last season. The reason we filmed then was because we went to Baffin Island the week before and then we were heading up to Alaska. So, we only had a three or four day window in between tips. We ended up doing it on one of the most wrong days you could pick. We left ourselves a little bit of extra hiking and it was also probably the single busiest ski day on Bloody Couloir that year because it was Memorial Day Weekend."

In typical Fifty fashion, you just had to add some extra challenges, right?

"Exactly."

You had quite the cast of characters who joined you for Bloody. How did you select your crew for the last episode of The Fifty?

"Oh, I just texted friends that are local to the area and a few that were in town. That was about it. I knew I wanted to keep the size not super huge because, you know, the bigger the group, the more kind of danger you can add to a backcountry expedition.

They were people that have been a part of The Fifty, and people I grew up skiing with. I think two of the people there were best men in my wedding, and people like Michelle and Elyse who have been on tons and tons of episodes.

It was a group of friends that are kind of always up for a good mission in the backcountry."

Why was it important for you to have these folks around you for the last episode?

"I just kind of wanted more of that celebratory vibe. 

The feeling I've got through this entire project is like, it's really cool to experience these places, these lines, the challenges, checking it off feels kind of good. But, it's ultimately like, when you see a friend that you went on a really cool mission with, there's a certain bond and camaraderie that you get from that. That is the biggest reward of it.

It's the stupidest cliche. It's like "oh, it's the friends you made along the way", but it kind of is. And so I just wanted like this kind of celebratory vibe of like hey, let's go camp and let's go ski. We're gonna laugh, we're gonna smile, and we're gonna go have fun in the sun."

I, like many people, didn't expect the series to end before you reached all fifty lines. Why did the series end with Bloody?

"Yeah, so there's a lot of complexity to it. Making films, being a professional athlete, production, deliverables, there's a lot of complexity to my job. Ultimately, what I wanted to do, was have a tight ending to this series that was on YouTube. I have more ideas, more things I would like to do in the mountains, more stories I'd like to tell, and there's potential that is going to be coming.

It's kind of why I said don't leave this YouTube channel. It allows me to kind of do more things according to my own will. Whether that's lines, mountains, or stories, and to not be trapped into this 50. The other thing it really does is it allows me the freedom to do these last four lines on my own dime, my own time, and my own motivation. I am completely removing any pressures to put out any sort of content, any sort of exterior things that are related to these last four lines, because these last four lines are among some of the most challenging in the world.

Some of those remaining lines may get skied more. Some may never get skied again. I don't know, but ultimately I want to kind of refocus on just the lines themselves. Bjarne is gonna be there. We're gonna document them in some sort of way, but you know, there's not this like "hey, we've got to make an episode out of this".

When there is a decision as to whether I'm done before I finish all 50, I'll decide what we do. Ultimately, I needed a bookend to this series."

How will you remember the last five years of working on The Fifty?

"I wish I could savor it a little bit more. Before the pandemic, we were ticking off lines really fast. I think we did like 20 or 21 lines the very first year. That was too fast.

One of the coolest things was getting all these comments on this last episode. I teared up yesterday reading them. People were sharing their stories of how the series has changed their life, how it's motivated them. Whether they've learned something, moved out west, or they're in their 50s and 60s and are just getting into ski touring because of this.

It just gave this depth of meaning to a project that was a self motivated thing, something that I wanted to do. Then to see it has a much larger impact than just yourself, it's like, that was really powerful. It gives purpose to what I do as a skier, I guess."

So, what comes next for your career?

"I would say it's probably a little bit of a combination of The Fifty, because I really like human powered skiing and challenging ski mountaineering lines.

But, I mean, skiing powder is still the best thing on earth. And although there was a lot of jokes about me not skiing powder anymore, I'm focused on getting bigger lines in better conditions and being able to have that flexibility.

You know, I don't foresee a big pivot, because I'm still very obsessed with ski touring,  and this form of skiing."

Related: Cody Townsend's Fifty Project— A Larger Than Life Mission To Ski The Split Couloir

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