The FIFTY

[powdork]

Well, the topic of the video was layering…. So mission accomplished starting a discussion about it here. That’s the point of these videos anyway.

It’s not “Cody skis the coolest lines top to bottom nonstop,” it’s how to actually bag big ass peaks.

Don't kid yourself. The point of these videos is to promote Salomon gear, and other sponsors. There's nothing wrong with that and it doesn't make them any less entertaining. Most of the knowledge gleaned transfers to other brands anyway.

It's kind of a weird dichotomy because there's always at least 2 people doing this. Everything Cody does is out in the open and that's the point, whereas the equipment Bjarne brings is much more critical to the mission's success but seems to be a proprietary secret. This is assuming that the filming is part and parcel of the mission. And personally, if it's not filmed I'm just not going to watch it.

[MakersTeleMark]

I'll never understand the love for softshells. Heavy, not that packable, cold, not really windproof, not really waterproof. I've tried a few, they are best suited for the back of the closet.

3l shell, puffy for breaks or emergencies, and an insulating layer for me.

Sent from my SM-G996U1 using Tapatalk

Exactly.

[muted reborn]

Everything Cody does is out in the open and that's the point, whereas the equipment Bjarne brings is much more critical to the mission's success but seems to be a proprietary secret.

That's a weird take. Bjarne's value is his experience, attitude and fitness in the mountains. You can easily buy his equipment and use his gear and many people do, but you can replace the person - that's the proprietary secret.

And personally, if it's not filmed I'm just not going to watch it.

I'd say no one, not just you, will watch it if it's not filmed. I know I wouldn't - I have no doubt.

[powdork]

That's a weird take. Bjarne's value is his experience, attitude and fitness in the mountains. You can easily buy his equipment and use his gear and many people do, but you can replace the person - that's the proprietary secret.

I said that wrong. I meant all Cody's gear is out in the open and on display while i think Bjarne's gear is more mission critical but under wraps

[subtle plague]

They're just scared they'll Lose sibscribers if they Show The Diesel fueled dildo.

[doebedoe]

They're just scared they'll Lose sibscribers if they Show The Diesel fueled dildo.

Based on Bjarnes van builds, I would suspect its wood-fueled rather than diseal.

Speaking of -- interested to follow Bjarne's new company building out vans: https://www.salenadventurevans.com/ .

[jtran10]

Cody trying to film

[Clownshoe]

Another great one. Bjarne with a huge rip in the crotch of his pants at the end of the episode lol

[Abol98]

I said that wrong. I meant all Cody's gear is out in the open and on display while i think Bjarne's gear is more mission critical but under wraps

Funny that 48 hours later we get a peek at Bjarne's array. As a photographer I like to nerd out on this stuff and glad to know he's not hauling a 200/2.8 up there every time. That said, in the context of The Fifty, I could see that video/camera support is a category that could hypothetically be tailored to sponsorship so maybe you don't go hog wild hyping the camera gear until someone gives you reason to do so? Get on it, Sony!

[Alkasquawlik]

Funny that 48 hours later we get a peek at Bjarne's array. As a photographer I like to nerd out on this stuff and glad to know he's not hauling a 200/2.8 up there every time. That said, in the context of The Fifty, I could see that video/camera support is a category that could hypothetically be tailored to sponsorship so maybe you don't go hog wild hyping the camera gear until someone gives you reason to do so? Get on it, Sony!

Yeah I kept quiet with the speculation and assumptions on here knowing this episode is about to come out.

As far as camera gear, sure people may be interested, but it doesn't deserve a full video because it could be covered in two minutes and there isn't much more depth to it than what we covered in this episode. I have two priorities for how I purchase my camera gear; is it small, quick and nimble, can it record video and audio. We make YouTube episodes so no need for RED cams, cineflexes and a bunch of gear that's gonna cost me a quarter mil. I spend about $3-5k on camera equipment per year and call it good. We're not a cinematic production, it's just point, shoot and capture the story.

As far as Bjarne's ski gear, he pretty much uses the same stuff I use but gets like one pair of pants and jacket and two pairs of skis that all may be a year old from Salomon. So no secret there. His puffy's are hand me downs from Jimmy.

[ey_allen]

I'm not a camera nerd or anything, so that was about as much info as I needed on Bjarne's setup (not that I don't respect what he does and how he does it).

Aside from finally revealing some of Bjarne's secrets, I thought it was great to see the mental shift between filming and skiing and the roles each of you play in the process of putting this whole series together. Cody with the lens cap on and Bjarne struggling to think of something to say to move the episode forward was perfection.

All in all I'm loving The Fifty more with each episode, and I'm glad you all are mixing it up with each line rather than just keeping it about ticking off the list.

[Supermoon]

If you’re not leaving your lens cap on at least once a shoot and then having to tell everyone to wait all embarrassed, are you even a photographer?

At least you didn’t drop the camera with the lens off into the snow. My, uh, friend did that once and pretty much ended the day of filming.

[powdork]

As far as Bjarne's ski gear, he pretty much uses the same stuff I use but gets like one pair of pants and jacket and two pairs of skis that all may be a year old from Salomon. So no secret there. His puffy's are hand me downs from Jimmy.

That was kind of my point. He has all the same ski gear as you, but all this extra gear too. I think an awesome episode would be a side by side (on a challenging technical line, and one with drone usage) of a normal episode where Bjarne is filming you while someone else is filming what Bjarne does and editing them into one episode.
And trust me, a Bjarne gear video could be waaay longer than two minutes. Two minutes could cover why he goes for the hip belt for the camera rather than the backpack strap holster (connector really) from Peak Designs. How he stays up to capture the star photography. Any special gloves with the fingertips that open for shooting in cold? Fashion tips (when he wears all the gear he doesn't look goofy at all). I'm guessing there's filters on those lenses, etc. Does he ever anchor in to shoot in gnar situations, or dig out a place to stand, etc.

Point being. Some of us grew up wanting to ski the lines in Powder mag. Some of us grew up wanting to take the pictures we saw in Powder mag. And some of us are too young to know what Powder Magazine was....

[I've seen black diamonds!]

If you’re not leaving your lens cap on at least once a shoot and then having to tell everyone to wait all embarrassed, are you even a photographer?

My sister is photographer. The single most helpful piece of advice she has ever given me is this:

Don't use a lens cap.

[Supermoon]

100%. If I’m shooting indoors I will take all the caps off and just have everything in my bag ready to go. Way faster.

Outdoors, in weather and snow especially, I use all the extra protection I can get to guard against my general clumsiness.

[Alkasquawlik]

That was kind of my point. He has all the same ski gear as you, but all this extra gear too. I think an awesome episode would be a side by side (on a challenging technical line, and one with drone usage) of a normal episode where Bjarne is filming you while someone else is filming what Bjarne does and editing them into one episode.
And trust me, a Bjarne gear video could be waaay longer than two minutes. Two minutes could cover why he goes for the hip belt for the camera rather than the backpack strap holster (connector really) from Peak Designs. How he stays up to capture the star photography. Any special gloves with the fingertips that open for shooting in cold? Fashion tips (when he wears all the gear he doesn't look goofy at all). I'm guessing there's filters on those lenses, etc. Does he ever anchor in to shoot in gnar situations, or dig out a place to stand, etc.

Yeah I see how there could be more depth but one more line could cover most of those questions. Hip Bag for cold insulation. PD leaves the camera exposed to cold and batteries die. Star photography time-lapse is set up a camera, open up aperture fully, connect a timer / shutter release device and let it go until it dies. Everything in cinematography / photography is really quite simple to learn, it's more the practice and experience that makes you good at it in the field, on the fly and when the situation is tough. Fucking up over and over, like I did and every camera person has, helps you make the mental checks to not do that again. What makes Bjarne a great cinematographer has nothing to do with cameras, technical aspects of using them, framing or anything, it's the ability to take out the camera when the situation is most gnarly and capture what is necessary. That's the art that no book or film or manual could ever teach, it's just doing it over and over and being really calm and composed in gnar.

[::: :::]

While I realize photography isn’t the focus of The Fifty, I am def surprised at the “it’s not a big deal” answer.
Maybe I’m just not properly aware of Bjarne’s resume…
Is he a climber/skier who happens to be able to hold a camera reasonably?
Or a pro photographer who can keep up in the mountains?
Or something in between?
Any spot in that spectrum that leans towards the pro photo end seems like there’s probably a lot missing in the story of how a pro photographer approaches these projects…
And that also may be an entirely different project to tell that story appropriately too. I’d watch that one too, Bjarne, fwiw.
Just my $0.02

[powdork]

Yeah I see how there could be more depth but one more line could cover most of those questions. Hip Bag for cold insulation. PD leaves the camera exposed to cold and batteries die. Star photography time-lapse is set up a camera, open up aperture fully, connect a timer / shutter release device and let it go until it dies. Everything in cinematography / photography is really quite simple to learn, it's more the practice and experience that makes you good at it in the field, on the fly and when the situation is tough. Fucking up over and over, like I did and every camera person has, helps you make the mental checks to not do that again. What makes Bjarne a great cinematographer has nothing to do with cameras, technical aspects of using them, framing or anything, it's the ability to take out the camera when the situation is most gnarly and capture what is necessary. That's the art that no book or film or manual could ever teach, it's just doing it over and over and being really calm and composed in gnar.

I disagree. A video of someone moving efficiently in the backcountry and acting cool and composed in challenging conditions is exactly what it takes to teach others how to do it. It won't necessarily make them composed in the same situation but will learn them the tools required to do so.

[danmelon]

While I realize photography isn’t the focus of The Fifty, I am def surprised at the “it’s not a big deal” answer.
Maybe I’m just not properly aware of Bjarne’s resume…
Is he a climber/skier who happens to be able to hold a camera reasonably?
Or a pro photographer who can keep up in the mountains?
Or something in between?
Any spot in that spectrum that leans towards the pro photo end seems like there’s probably a lot missing in the story of how a pro photographer approaches these projects…
And that also may be an entirely different project to tell that story appropriately too. I’d watch that one too, Bjarne, fwiw.
Just my $0.02

Bjarne was on the snow brains podcast recently and gave some insights on this.

Great episode! Off topic but I always appreciate the soundtracks, especially once you guys start skiing the chosen line. Curious who's picking the tunes...?

[MakersTeleMark]

Just a small point, but the silver couloir has never been referred to as Elvis. Elvis and Little Elvis are entirely different lines on your approach side. Sometimes the Silver is called the NE couloir. Thanks for not filming the exit turnoff so that I can have a few years' more laughing at folks who miss the turnoff back up to the TH.

[Name Redacted]

Just a small point, but the silver couloir has never been referred to as Elvis. Elvis and Little Elvis are entirely different lines on your approach side. Sometimes the Silver is called the NE couloir. Thanks for not filming the exit turnoff so that I can have a few years' more laughing at folks who miss the turnoff back up to the TH.

No, it has been called Big Elvis for many many years. There's also Maximum Elvis, and Elvis's Crotch.

Stanwagon calls it Elvis: http://www.stanwagon.com/wagon/colos...tcogore_4.html

[MakersTeleMark]

No, it has been called Big Elvis for many many years. There's also Maximum Elvis, and Elvis's Crotch.

Stanwagon calls it Elvis: http://www.stanwagon.com/wagon/colos...tcogore_4.html

I've had this debate with Stan over a decade ago. He's wrong. He knows he wrong too. He just put that in there because wrong people refer to it as such.

[Name Redacted]

I've had this debate with Stan over a decade ago. He's wrong. He knows he wrong too. He just put that in there because wrong people refer to it as such.

Tomato To-ma-to....

I remember it being called Elvis back in the 90's. I lived across from the TH and skied/snowboarded Buffalo a lot for a few years, it was right out my front door. I haven't ever seen anything else up there called Elvis, and I've never seen anything on a map that is any different. The lines to either side of it, all refer to Elvis as well. That said, we always called it the North Chute because the Elvis thing is kinda cheesy.

But call it what you want, it isn't much more than one of many good ski lines up there. I like it because it is like a fly trap, sucking people in who want to "Ski the Fifty" and it keeps them off the many other lines up there. The line that they hike back up to ski in this vid is the bottom of one of my favorites.

[chicken feathers]

I've heard it called Y couloir about as much as I've heard it called Silver...But thats coming from crusty Routt Co. OG's, not Summit locals. Still figured it was Buffalo mountain from the YT thumbnail.

Recently got a tv and have been re-watching the series on the big screen. My wife digs the series too, maybe even more than me which is rad.

Really appreciate the work Cody and the crew is doing to share the project! I took it for granted at first and dropped out after the first few episodes. But damn, It's a great series. One of my favorite shows to watch.

[doebedoe]

I'm pretty sure if people regularly call a line a name, such that the majority of folks would understand what line they are talking about, then that's it's name. Old grouches may hate Abasin being called Abay, but everyone knows what Abay refers to.

But Cody is our linguist. Maybe he'll give us a special episode on disputed nomenclature of lines in the Fifty.