Featured Image: Bjarne Salen
Cody Townsend is one of the most recognizable names in skiing at the moment. He’s been a regular in Matchstick Productions’ annual flicks since 2005’s The Hit List, has wowed mass audiences with his fast, fluid approach to big-mountain skiing and won over the hearts of ski enthusiasts the world over with his low-key demeanor and charisma. Last season, he announced his most ambitious project to date, the goal to ski all fifty lines in the beloved book, 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America, by Chris Davenport, Art Burrows and Penn Newhard.
For episode and line 17 of his epic pursuit of all 50 Classic Ski Descents in North America, Cody Townsend heads down to southern Utah’s La Sal Mountains, near Moab, with videographer Bjarné Salen. Within the La Sal Mountain range stands Mt. Tukuhnikivatz–the native homeland of the Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), Diné (Navajo) and ancestral Puebloan peoples.
To get a better sense of what this land holds in history and personal meaning, Townsend invites Len Necefer PHD, Diné (Navajo), the CEO of Native Outdoors and a professor of Native American Studies and Connor Ryan, Húŋkpapȟa (Lakota). The crew of four make the pleasant ascent to the peak of Mt. Tukuhnikivatz as Necefer and Ryan share their personal stories and relationships to the mountains as Native Americans and outdoor enthusiasts. What this line lacks in “Type 2 Fun” it certainly makes up for in its spectacular desert views and long, storied history.
