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By Sam Collentine, Meteorologist Posted 1 year ago January 10, 2023

WATCH: The FIFTY - Combatant Couloir

Nestled at the base of the highest mountain entirely in BC, Canada, Mt. Waddington, lies a perfect couloir. A white ribbon knifed through colossal granite towers set among an ocean of ice and snow.

While Mt. Waddington is a prize for mountaineers, the Combatant Couloir is a prize for ski mountaineers. But what if the mountains, the ice, and the permanent snow has changed so much, that exactly what defines the Combatant as perfect, is no longer true?

Joined by professional freeskier Nick McNutt, the FIFTY crew heads up to one of the stormiest, windiest, and what local legend Mike King describes as "one of the worst places on the planet" to ski a line that looks classic, but may not be classic anymore.


The FIFTY is 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". The series documents Townsend's journeys, travels, challenges, and each line and mountain listed in the book. It's a journey through the most majestic mountains and ski lines in North America along with a unique insight into how skiers make decisions in the backcountry, how they plan, navigate, and safely move through the mountains along with the people that dedicate their lives to the mountains.

Line #1: Messner Couloir

Line #2: Mt. Superior

Line #3: Terminal Cancer

Line #4: Hypodermic Needle

Line #5: Mt. Currie

Line #6: Aemmer Couloir

Line #7: Joffre Peak

Line #8: The Sphinx

Line #9: Spearhead Traverse

Line #10: Giant Steps Couloir

Line #11: Grand Teton

Line #12: Landry Line

Line #13: Middle Teton

Lines #14-15: North Maroon & Holy Cross Couloir

Line #16: Mt. Tukuhnikivatz

Line #17: Wilson Peak

Lines #18-19: Meteorite Mountain & Pontoon Peak

Line #20: Watson Traverse

Line #21: Mt. Shasta

Line #22: Mt. Timpanogos

Line #23: Mt. Washington

Line #24: Mt. Shuksan

Line #25: McGown Peak

Line #26: The Sickle

Line #27: Mt. Moran

Lines #28-30: Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, & El Dorado Peak

Line #31: Mt. Stimson

Line #32: Castle Peak

Line #33: Mt. Whitney

Line #34: Devil’s Bedstead

Line #35: Silver Couloir

Line #36: The Patriarch

Line #37 Attempt: Mt. St. Elias

Line #37 Attempt: Comstock Couloir 

Line #37: 7 Steps to Paradise

Line #38: The Sphinx

Line #39: Uber Tour

Line #40: Bugs to Rogers Traverse Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3

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About The Author

Sam Collentine

Meteorologist

Sam Collentine is the Chief Operating Officer of OpenSnow and lives in Basalt, Colorado. Before joining OpenSnow, he studied Atmospheric Science at the University of Colorado, spent time at Channel 7 News in Denver, and at the National Weather Service in Boulder.

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