The FIFTY

[MtHothamHound]

Hey Cody,

Just (re)watched Ep 6 (Aemmer Couloir), at the end you happened to mention that your hip flexors were “on fire”: haven’t seen any further mention of this in later eps so assume you’ve either pushed through the pain barrier (!), or come up with a program to deal with this. Would be interested to hear how you dealt with this as hip flexor pain (R side only for some reason) is the proverbial thorn in my side. Cheers from Downunder!

(nice work on the milk crate mod swissiphic).

[mooseknuckle]

Got one more episode to go and then that's it. Right as we were about to hit the honey pot of the season too. Right when all the lines I have left in Revy are filled in like they haven't been in years and in their biggest stretch of perfect temp high pressure they've had in over a decade. It's literally perfect there right now and yup...it's a no go. Total bummer but there are worse things in the world to have happen than a selfish ski project being cut short. There is a chance for one more this season though and if it happens they way I want it to happen, should be pretty epic.

For Elyse, I just wanted a line that wasn't too big in terms of vert since she tours so rarely but had a little bit of a steep pucker factor to it. From the day before's mission I would've guessed it would've been better than it was. But since it got skied out many times before us, it was heinous. Definitely didn't expect that but hey, that's what happens when you're trying to do 50 lines in a few years.

Thanks for the scoop, Cody. I’m bummed like the rest of us about the current state of affairs and assumed it’d put a hurting on your timing/episode releases. This too shall pass and fingers crossed for next season.

Plenty of variables indeed on any of these long approaches. Appreciate the insight. Hindsight is always 20/20, but damn Elyse is a good egg. That was a slog for someone who doesn’t tour much.

[kootenayskier]

Got one more episode to go and then that's it. Right as we were about to hit the honey pot of the season too. Right when all the lines I have left in Revy are filled in like they haven't been in years and in their biggest stretch of perfect temp high pressure they've had in over a decade. It's literally perfect there right now and yup...it's a no go. Total bummer but there are worse things in the world to have happen than a selfish ski project being cut short. There is a chance for one more this season though and if it happens they way I want it to happen, should be pretty epic.

For Elyse, I just wanted a line that wasn't too big in terms of vert since she tours so rarely but had a little bit of a steep pucker factor to it. From the day before's mission I would've guessed it would've been better than it was. But since it got skied out many times before us, it was heinous. Definitely didn't expect that but hey, that's what happens when you're trying to do 50 lines in a few years.

Most of the time I feel especially fortunate to be still skiing familiar lines in my backyard, but occasionally I’m reminded that conditions on the lines I’d been planning pre Covid have been once in a decade perfect this past month. The sacrifice is real.

[LeeLau]

Most of the time I feel especially fortunate to be still skiing familiar lines in my backyard, but occasionally I’m reminded that conditions on the lines I’d been planning pre Covid have been once in a decade perfect this past month. The sacrifice is real.

In the Coast we've had obviously the same conditions as you in the Interior. 2 weeks of superb high pressure with cold temps up high. But am resigned to things being the way they are and thankfully trailwork is fine

[powdork]

Got one more episode to go and then that's it. Right as we were about to hit the honey pot of the season too. Right when all the lines I have left in Revy are filled in like they haven't been in years and in their biggest stretch of perfect temp high pressure they've had in over a decade. It's literally perfect there right now and yup...it's a no go. Total bummer but there are worse things in the world to have happen than a selfish ski project being cut short. There is a chance for one more this season though and if it happens they way I want it to happen, should be pretty epic.

have you considered tacking on an extra March thru May at the end of all this to make up for it?

[Alkasquawlik]

Hey Cody,

Just (re)watched Ep 6 (Aemmer Couloir), at the end you happened to mention that your hip flexors were “on fire”: haven’t seen any further mention of this in later eps so assume you’ve either pushed through the pain barrier (!), or come up with a program to deal with this. Would be interested to hear how you dealt with this as hip flexor pain (R side only for some reason) is the proverbial thorn in my side. Cheers from Downunder!

(nice work on the milk crate mod swissiphic).

It's a little bit of both. I've still got some serious imbalance issues in my hips from a previously subluxation in my hip (dislocated but popped right back in) but I've been learning more and more methods to stretch and strengthen to reduce pain and decrease the strain and pressuring touring puts on my hip flexor. Plus, from that experience and working on my hips with PT's last fall, I'm learning to anticipate the potential strains and pains and counter them previous to be 15k deep in the mountains and barely being able to lift my ski off the ground because of the pain.

So yeah, it's still very much there but I'm getting better at treating and preventing it.

[Alkasquawlik]

have you considered tacking on an extra March thru May at the end of all this to make up for it?

Oh this thing is going much longer than the 3 year timeline I set out for myself.

[gimpy]

little tip i picked up from a local legend about hip flexors n touring:
the key is to shift your hips to the opposite side of your forward advancing foot. so, if left foot is moving forward, articulate your hips to your right side. this allows your hip to already be set up to take the next step forward with your right foot. when you dont do this, your hip flexor has to work twice as hard. its not really a natural motion as we usually synch our hips with our leading foot so you really have to think about it with each step until you can do it subconsciously. it sounds insignificant but it really does make a difference, especially if you have flexor issues already

[TahoeJ]

Oh this thing is going much longer than the 3 year timeline I set out for myself.

I don't think anyone really cares about the specific time-line part of this project. COVID-19 aside, it probably wasn't realistic in the first place because of the sheer amount of luck you'd need in terms of conditions lining up... and still being safe and making smart decisions. Doing it as fast as you can while not being reckless is really the key objective IMO.

[Alkasquawlik]

Doing it as fast as you can while not being reckless is really the key objective IMO.

That. That is the goal 100%. The three years was almost for myself, not for the public. It was a way for me to challenge myself to go really really really friggin hard. Which we have been doing and I'm loving that push hard mentality. We did Giant Steps. The Grand, Middle Teton, Pyramid, North Maroon, Holy Cross, Tuk, Wilson, Meteorite and Pontoon in 6 weeks last spring. That was a hell of a spring.

But ultimately the goal is to not die and try to do all 50. In that specific order.

[hutash]

Great episode and brings back memories...

The first time I took my wife on a mountaineering climb we did a spring route up one of the east facing couloirs of Mt Tulac (Tahoe). It ended up be a mixed snow and rock climbing in crampons. She was a trooper, but the fact I put her in such a position freaked me the hell out. I had been there dozens of times with other climbing partners, but never somebody I was in love with and felt 100% responsible for. It took me years to get back out climbing with her (kids and careers intervened. )

[powdork]

That'd be the Cross on Tallac. Tell your wife Alex Honnold fell there and broke his face the week after another man fell to his death (I don't know if either were in the cross).
https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/ne...r-tallac-fall/

[MtHothamHound]

Thanks Cody and Gimpy for your replies (back to the physio and Pilates instructor it is!).

Personal note: I’m an Intensive Care Paramedic in Melbourne so on the front lines of this current Pandemic (we are faring a little better here at this stage though a long way to go, definitely a marathon not a sprint); props to you Cody and the guys at Arcade Belts for your very cool contribution to local healthcare centres PPE (to that end I’ve ordered an Arcade ranger belt and will spread the word in my area about your company, good deeds coming full circle).

[ddraver]

Got to be a few shops in Verbier that would stock Arcade Belts too, eh? I had to go all the way to Chamonix for mine!*

Mind have to do a diamond studded one for Verbier mind...

(*not entirely true)

[SB]

Yeah, dont die doing this.

That wood be good.

I stopped watching the videos at the end of Feb when I seen what was coming.

Saving them back for preseason stoke this fall.

Be where you are at.

[goldenboy]

I've always found it humorous that skiing the East face of Castle Peak along with a few other mags was sort of my wife and I's "first date". Bummed you couldn't ski a few more this spring, but most mountains not named Joffre should still be there next year, eh?

[paulster2626]

Anyone got dibs on the truck when the project is done?

[plugboots]

Hey, I just wanted to say that after reading a lot of your YouTube, Instagram and Twitter comments, you should come to my area and ski where I ski because it’s the best ever.
Also, you should do an episode about what your dog eats for training.

[skiJ]

Yeah, I've said this in quite a few podcasts lately but I 100% felt the trajectory I was on was unsustainable, both from the level of line that wouldn't get me excited/motivated to the only line that did get me excited/motivated and how insanely dangerous that was to continue to push in that realm. I pretty got bored (oh and this is like the most jaded 1% of 1% thing to say) of heli-skiing, the pampered lifestyle of it and filming lines. I needed/wanted something different that I wasn't getting anymore from traditional ski-porn film making. So over the last 4-5 years, I started exploring many different realms of mountains, from far flung expeditions, to high-altitude adventures to human powered line skiing. Over those 4-5 years I settled on the fact that I'm obsessed with the west coast of the entire North American continent. The Fifty then fit right into that realm. So now over 2 years of dreaming about this, I'm doing it and couldn't be more stoked about it.

congratulations, Cody... your project is awesome !

I am late to the party given limited access --
I have watched half a dozen episodes and read the first thirty pages of your thread - much of that reading today --

in my reading, your post above really resonated with me - and I am glad you found a way to challenge yourself and expand your skiing without having to ski an exposure that cost you your life...

as a kid more than forty years ago, ,,, you know - I did not even dream of an adventure like this - but If I had known something like this was possible. . .


my point ( if I have one... ) is I appreciate , I admire , and I respect that you found a new way to challenge yourself : I am really tired of reading about death in the backcountry. and, final thought,

Jimmy Chin climbing the Grand three times weekly for 'training' ! !
And now he is an Oscar awarded filmmaker...

Cody, you may not receive an Oscar for this project, but as someone else noted,
you have provided priceless mentoring through this project and the creation of your 'mini-films'...

kudos to Bjarne, too , and

Thank you, Cody : awesome ! !!!

and to borrow an expression : FknA.

With great Respect. tj

[SB]

Can you do one like the cat snow skate viddy?

[Cocximus]

Epoxy with steel wool of the crack is big?

[danmelon]

Can you do one like the cat snow skate viddy?

hey don't you like boarding and cats



sorry [/thread drift]

[SB]

Hey, if you could make the video work in your picture that would be good.

[MakersTeleMark]

Hey, if you could make the video work in your picture that would be good.

Is this a boomer facepalm, or is it just a bad attempt at sarcasm?

[SB]

Ahhh, thats better.