Cody Townsend's Project takes a Turn

[Mike King]

Watch Mt. Joffre first:


Then this appendix to it.


What would you have done?

Mike

 

[neonorchid]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mike King]

Yeah, at the end of the first attempt, it looks like they encounter another group -- and the other group was going to ski what Cody Townsend had decided was too sketchy? As well as the dude tomahawking the couloir that he also decided wouldn't go? I guess there's an awful lot of id 10 T errors out there...

Mike

 

[CalG]

It would be difficult to cultivate the knowledge and connections that guided the the decisions that went into best aiding the injured skier.

Just knowing where mobile phone service could be had is significant.

Heck, The code to the condo didn't work, and the advisory poster suggested to call the building manager. Our arrival was after 1 am due to flight delays.
And we didn't have service! What's a fellow to do?

PLAN! . I suppose.

 

[dbostedo]

So it appears that the injured man was on the mountain and skiing that couloir alone? That seems like the craziest thing to me. It wouldn't even take a fall as bad as he took to die out there. He's very lucky.

 

[neonorchid]

^ what I was thinking! Suicidal!

 

[CalG]

So it appears that the injured man was on the mountain and skiing that couloir alone? That seems like the craziest thing to me. It wouldn't even take a fall as bad as he took to die out there. He's very lucky.

How can you know that? If I were a member of the tumbler's party, and saw him rag doll and tomahawk down such danger, I would not follow. And the optional route down may lead to a location far from the point of rest for the injured person.

Not an attack on the idea that the skier might have been Really stupid and skiing alone, but only a plausible optional scenario.

 

[dbostedo]

How can you know that? If I were a member of the tumbler's party, and saw him rag doll and tomahawk down such danger, I would not follow. And the optional route down may lead to a location far from the point of rest for the injured person.

Not an attack on the idea that the skier might have been Really stupid and skiing alone, but only a plausible optional scenario.

Obviously I can't know that. But I find it hard to believe that it wouldn't have been mentioned in all of the talk about getting the heli in and getting the guy out. And that someone from his group wouldn't have gotten to him via another route in the long time it took to get the heli in.

 

[neonorchid]

^ or after they got off the mountain that they wouldn't have been calling local authorities to report the incident and that there may be a body up there, not to mention calling for info had they spotted the helicopter in the area. Although, we may be getting the "google notes" version and @CalG's theory may be correct.

 

[Primoz]

How can you know that? If I were a member of the tumbler's party, and saw him rag doll and tomahawk down such danger, I would not follow. And the optional route down may lead to a location far from the point of rest for the injured person.

No idea about this particular couloir, but skiing is one thing and then there's carefully trying to sideslip down. You can go much more complicated terrain just slowly sideslipping or even putting skis on backpack and climb down. Sure noone would want to do that if just skiing is in question, but if your buddy is laying down injured or dead, you forget about fun turns and just do whatever it takes to get down there, even if that means you won't be making those cool turns you were working all day to get up to top of mountain for.
Like I said, no idea about all this, no idea how that couloir looks like, but just what I would do if I would be really up there with that guy, and of course if that couloir is sort of skiable/walkable. If it has 20m drop in between or something like that, then of course it's different thing.

 

[Mike King]

No idea about this particular couloir, but skiing is one thing and then there's carefully trying to sideslip down. You can go much more complicated terrain just slowly sideslipping or even putting skis on backpack and climb down. Sure noone would want to do that if just skiing is in question, but if your buddy is laying down injured or dead, you forget about fun turns and just do whatever it takes to get down there, even if that means you won't be making those cool turns you were working all day to get up to top of mountain for.
Like I said, no idea about all this, no idea how that couloir looks like, but just what I would do if I would be really up there with that guy, and of course if that couloir is sort of skiable/walkable. If it has 20m drop in between or something like that, then of course it's different thing.

True, but the compatriots to Cody in the first attempt stated that a couple of the couloirs "did not go" whatever that means.

Who knows? Perhaps there were compatriots and they didn't get down by a safe, or even the same, route until well after Townsend and company were gone from the scene. And perhaps if that's so, Townsend and company simply didn't mention it in their videos as the point of the accident video was to talk about rescue decision-making, and the presence or lack of late arriving companions had nothing to do with that (other than the objective hazard of possible folk in avalanche terrain above you).

Mike

 

[jmeb]

If you want to follow this project with insider detail I recommend keeping tabs on the TGR thread. Cody is regularly posting inside info on things like what lines they scoped, the incident, his thinking about the rescue, etc etc.

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/325331-The-FIFTY

 

[neonorchid]

From the YouTube video Comments, Q&A's: -


Joe Eichinger 2 days ago
Great work and explanation. I don’t think it was ever mentioned, but did he have a partner anywhere nearby that he was skiing with or was he solo?

57





Lee Lau 2 days ago
Solo

 

[Alexzn]

This is why Cody is doing what he is doing and is still alive. We always underestimate the amount of training experience and caution that goes into skiing hairy lone in the backcountry and staying alive. All we see is the final footage of glorious run. The guy was super lucky that he had professionals in the vicinity. And yes, skiing the line that Cody Townsend decided was too sketchy is courting death.

 

[Primoz]

@Alexzn I wouldn't say it's suicide to ski something what Townsend said is too sketchy. I would dare to bet there are people that ski better then him, even if we never saw their footage. It's not like he's best skier on world. But yeah chances that person (or anyone of us here) was one of those people are pretty slim.

 

[Alexzn]

@Primoz yrs Cody is not the best but darn close to the best. And one hallmark of the best and the most experienced skiers is that they tend to have sound judgment. That's how they stay alive doing what they are doing.

 

[Tricia]

That is an incredible PSA
Just Wow!

 

[Alexzn]

As for Cody not being the best skier... well...here is an example:
Pretty elite skiing skills in my book, AND balls of steel.

 

[CalG]

As for Cody not being the best skier... well...here is an example:
Pretty elite skiing skills in my book, AND balls of steel.

What skiing skills? He just went STRAIGHT!
;-)

 

[James]

There were turns in there. Just very shallow.