Peak Obsession (2019)
Overview
Cody Townsend has set out on an audacious goal to climb and ski all 50 lines chronicled in the book, "The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America". Peak Obsession is a stand alone film premiered at film festivals around the world and dives into the depths of the mindset behind the project told through the story of two of the more challenging lines in the book, Meteorite Mountain and Pontoon Peak near Valdez, Alaska. Joined by legendary snowboarder Jeremy Jones, along with cameraman Bjarne Salen, they set out on an adventure rife with challenge, exhaustion and a bevy of lessons to learn along the adventure. This is Episode 19 and line 17 and 18 completed for The FIFTY, a project following Cody Townsend as he attempts to climb and ski all fifty of the lines and mountains chronicled in the book, "The 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America."
Production Companies
Additional Info
| Budget | $0.00 |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $0.00 |
| Original Language | en |
| Popularity | 2.402 |
Directed By
Crew
Bjarne Salén
TOP CAST
Similar Movies
Magic Hour
For 27 years, Teton Gravity Research has been searching for the right place with the right crew at the perfect time to experience life at its fullest. Between the thrill of the hunt and the peace of floating down a mountain, the sum of our experiences becoming greater than its parts is what we seek. If you ask us, our annual snow film Magic Hour is just that.
Manaslu: Mountain of Souls
The great successes and tragedies in the life and work of Hans Kammerlander, the renowned mountaineer.
Butter
The ski film 'Butter' was produced, filmed and edited by Constantine Papanicolaou aka CP. The movie documents the sport of skiing in Lake Tahoe at the turn of the century when it was going through a very big change from it traditional history. This movie features the skiing of Peter Tanksersley, Shane Anderson, Jamie Burge, Charlie Smith, Ricky Gotterdam, Chris Elardo, Tom Cooley, Todd Loveless, Brian Lungren, Casey Hakansson, Clint Fiala, Drew Campbell, Brett Webb, June Ide, Hart Eddy, Travis Ramos, Kyle Needham, David Keam, Rodd Adams, Kent Kreitler, and Chris Mathews.
Magma 3
Winner of 2023 IF3 "Best Urban Segment" starring Alex Hall and Hunter Hess. The third installment of the Magma Trilogy.
Wavy
The voyage to the scariest ski run of my life. The last voyage of Sofie and Captain Crocs. A ski odyssey to the far northern fjords of Norway, presented by Norrøna and Black Crows. After a decade of dreaming of the Kvænangstindan mountain range we board Captain Crocs' vessel Sofie in search of adventure. But when have you pushed it so far over the edge that you may never sail back home?
Wavy 2
watch Niko Schirmer and Celeste Pomerantz sail to the northern Norwegian island and ski arctic conditions in a one-of-a-kind movie Niko Schirmer swore he would never get on this boat again, but his new movie is all about Sofie (that’s the ship’s nickname) and a sailing voyage to Svalbard. Get on board and discover what happened in a trip full of adventure, wild animals, human interactions, and gnarly couloirs.
Summit Fever
Along this goal to ski all fifty of "The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America", there lies a few cruxes. A few lines that stand out as the ultimate test for skiers. Lines that have seen one, maybe two, ski descents in history. One such mountain that is on that list is Mt. St. Elias in Alaska. Mt. St. Elias is a mythical, foreboding peak that jumps straight out of the ocean, 18,008 feet into the sky. It's renowned for violent storms that come straight off the northern pacific and slam into its icy steeps. It is unknown how many people have ever stood on the summit, but it is known that most people that try, fail. In May of 2021, Cody Townsend, Dan Corn, Nick Russell and cinematographer Bjarne Salen set out to climb and ski this Alaskan beast. This is the tale of their adventure.
SPLIT
Mountains can have a certain energy to them and mountain called Split, located in the High Sierra Mountain Range in eastern California, has an energy with a dark side. Split Mountain is a 14,000 foot peak with a perfect couloir dividing two prominent summits. Visually, it’s a line that begs to be skied yet is guarded by a series of icefalls, rock steps and blue ice patches that make it extremely challenging. On top of that, the towering walls of the couloir present significant rockfall hazard along with an upper basin that can create dangerous avalanche conditions. It’s a line that requires patience, perfect timing…and many many attempts. Over the last 4 years, Cody Townsend, Nick Russell and cinematographer Bjarne Salén have been waiting, trying, scoping and learning about the history of this line, its moods, its conditions and its energy to successfully, and safely, ski it.
The Mountain Why
The FIFTY continues...But with a twist. The goal was simple, ride bikes, loaded down with 100 pounds of climbing, skiing and camping equipment, over 1000 miles to ski three of The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America. A tiring adventure and a sufferfest of course, but in the context of an ongoing global pandemic, a nation divided by chaos and a populace on the brink, a simple adventure throws the simple act of adventure into question. Why purposely suffer? Why selfishly pursue adventure? Why go into the mountains at all? All questions that a month long adventure begins to throw into your mind. Starring Cody Townsend and Michelle Parker, "The Mountain Why" is a ski adventure unlike any normal escape to the wild. This is a short film in The FIFTY series and line 28, 29, and 30.
The POLAR STAR
The most remote classic of The FIFTY, The Polar Star is an iconic ski line. Set on the Arctic island of Baffin, the Polar Star Couloir is aesthetic, breath-taking couloir set among an island of ice, Polar Bears and towering granite walls. Joining up with Cody Townsend on his attempt to ski "The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America" is one of the world's best ski mountaineers and steep skiers, Vivian Bruchez. Though the goal of the journey is to ski The Polar Star, a plethora of steep, challenging and beautiful ski lines await in Baffin...and a lesson in just what makes Vivian one of the world's best, comes to light.
Footsteps in the Snow
An overprotective mother (Veronica Lake) goes to great lengths to thwart her daughter's (Meredith MacRae) budding romance.
Warren Miller's Face of Winter
Watch the world’s best skiers and riders cover ground in some of the most legendary destinations to honor a face that launched a thousand quips and got us all started on this long, crazy ride. Visit some of Warren’s favorite locations from Switzerland to Chamonix, British Columbia to Alaska, Chile, Iceland, New Zealand, and more.
K2: The Impossible Descent
On July 22 2018, a Polish ski mountaineer clicked into his bindings at an altitude of 8,611m to make history. Follow Andrzej Bargiel’s expedition from Poland to Pakistan, as he descends K2 on skis.
The Art of Recreation
Created by Sampo Vallotton & Laurent De Martin, this unexpected short movie is a visual manifesto of their first winter with the new Simply. tools. This movie came together organically as they were surrounded by talented filmmakers and photographers whom they can proudly call friends.
Lake Effect
Lake Effect is a two-year Michigan ski film highlighting the joys of backyard adventure and the shifting perspective of Mike King, a professional skier who for a decade has only sought adventure from the peaks of mountain tops in the far reaches of the West. In 2020 when Covid encouraged lockdowns & travel restrictions, Mike's life on the road came to a screeching halt. This abrupt change inspired Mike to take the hurdle as an opportunity to rediscover the unique, untapped terrain, ski culture, and the people thriving right here in his home state of Michigan. Throughout filming Lake Effect Mike realized you don't need to travel far to have an epic adventure. Rather some creativity, curiosity, and the willingness to walk out the door to the abundance that starts right in our backyards.
Extreme Ops
While filming an advertisement, some extreme sports enthusiasts unwittingly stop a group of terrorists.
Free Rider
Sam Anthamatten (ski) and Victor de Le Rue (snowboard) push new boundaries in the wildest corner of Alaska. A bush pilot drops the small crew of five on a remote, unexplored glacier to conquer the spine walls in a series of ascents, each one more committed. Narrator Jérôme Tanon describes with honesty and a touch of sarcasm what exactly is going on here. Above all, he wants to feel what it’s like to be in their shoes, to understand what so called “free riders” are made of, and what could be the purpose and beauty of “freeriding”.
Tanner Hall Forever
With seven Winter X-Games gold medals and a career spanning twenty years, Tanner Hall has cemented himself as an icon and legend in the sport of skiing. Now, at age 35, he’s decided to enter the Freeride World Tour; a five-stop competition circuit in which skiers are judged on their ability to descend through rugged, un-groomed terrain. Having never competed in a freeride competition, Tanner embarks on the latest chapter of his career, struggling against the limits of an aging body while confronting the darkest memories of his past.
Skiing Everest
A small, elite fraternity of high-altitude skiers climb the highest peaks in the world in pure Alpine style, carrying their skis and declining to use supplemental oxygen. At the top of the world, high in the Death Zone, they lock into their skis and challenge the most dangerous slopes in the world—under weather conditions that are as perilous as the thin air, hidden crevasses and 10,000 ft. sheer faces that drop into Nepal and Tibet far below.
Esperanto
Esperanto is TGR’s latest action-packed mountain bike film with an added twist. Mixing the rock stars of the sport with a cast of unknown and up-and-coming heroes, the film explores how we share our dreams through a universal two-wheeled language no matter what our native tongue may be. The sacred ritual of the ride might sound different all across the world – whether it’s a full-face getting pulled down to drop into a big jump line or wheeling a beat-up bike out of a mud hut to pedal to school – but it’s a universal process no matter what language we speak. There are more than 7000 languages spoken on Earth. In 1887 a Polish-Jewish doctor named L.L. Zamenhof created a new one, a universal second language based on a combination of existing widely-spoken European languages. Its goal, to help bring people together from different ideologies, beliefs, and nations and ultimately to help end war. The language was called Esperanto. Translated into English it means ‘one who hopes.’