En route to Utah for the second line of 'The FIFTY', the first setbacks of the season present themselves. With weather, avalanche danger and crowds, the first line of the year is met with difficult decision making, trepidation and the need for patience.

'The Fifty' is a project to climb and ski all 50 lines chronicled in the book, "The Fifty Classic Descents of North America". Over the next three years, Cody Townsend will be chronicling the adventures, challenges, and travels as he takes on a collection of the most aesthetic, spectacular, and hardest lines in North America.

Line #1: Messner Couloir