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So now that the video is out and it's getting passed around the internet faster than a joint at a Phish show, it's time to get a little bit behind the scenes of the action.

In order to accurately delve into the world of wave-skiing, I will interview myself. Well technically I'm interviewing myself but most of these questions and comments are plucked right out of internetdom. So here we go, Cody Townsend on Cody Townsend.



Why did you use ski boots and ski bindings?

To put it basically, ski boots and ski bindings were the safest and highest performing set-up we tested, and trust me we tested nearly everything out there. Most waterski, wakeboard and water-centric bindings didn't have the capability to come out of the bindings and skis as easily as ski boots come out of bindings. Nor do the water-centric stuff have nearly the drive and control of a alpine set-up.

Do boots sink like cement shoes or what?

Surprisingly enough ski boots float on their own when tossed into salt water. So no they don't sink you like a mafia boss' enemy.



Why no poles?

Cause how could have we held onto the tow rope with poles in our hands? Skiing on the waves was difficult enough without throwing joysticks into the mix.

Was it difficult?

Extremely. I couldn't have predicted it would have been that difficult at first. It was super awkward at times, really hard to maintain speed and incredibly hard to make rad turns because the design of our skis was so off the mark for enabling good turns and such. But at the same time there were moments when it felt like we were just out skiing down a mellow slope on any ole mountain.

How did the locals react to the endeavor?

Surprisingly the locals on Maui were friendly and supportive of our project. Maui is place that is quite open to innovation in the ocean and the fact that they accepted some fruit booters into the line-up truly proves that.




What skis are those?

We used two main type of skis, Wakeskis and some skis that were custom built for us by Starr Surfskis. They definitely did the trick in the fact that we were able to successfully ride waves but ultimately the designs were waaaayyyy off. If I could scrap it all I would in a second and go through a full redesign. I mean that was the ultimate challenge to the whole project, no one had done it before so we had to figure it out on our own with little time and a slim budget.

When are you doing it next?

Well to be honest probably never. I would definitely give it another go if I had the chance but the logistics and challenges of skiing on waves are pretty immense and costly. Plus we aren't trying to start a new sport here, just seeing if it could be done.



[just because all surf movies have girls in bikinis as B-Roll, I might as well oblige on this post. Elyse looking to the future]

Labels: Big wave skiing, Cody Townsend, Mike Douglas, Skiing on Waves

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Check out Porters Team rider Cody Townsend skiing waves in Maui. That's right you read it correctly "Big Wave Skiing"

Labels: Big wave skiing, Cody Townsend, Porters Ski Team

Comments:

 Anonymous
NICE WORK huge air to close-out was sick
-ar

# : December 23, 2009 2:55 PM

 

 jeremy
I would like to try ski kiting on the water. Looks like a fun trip.

# : December 23, 2009 4:51 PM

 

 Tommy G.
Cody...serious you can shred anything...that was gross in a good way

# : December 23, 2009 9:22 PM

 

 Zak.Shelhamer
Nice I've been waiting for this edit to drop, thats pretty sweet!

# : December 24, 2009 7:16 AM

 

 Timy
SSSIiiIICCCKkkkK!!!

# : December 25, 2009 9:08 AM

 

 Rals
thats a sweet idea looks like a lot of fun....i wonder what the surfer kids are going to think about this...

# : December 26, 2009 10:26 AM

 

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Although many explorers, adventurers and professional athletes would like to tout their adventures as grandiose dreams, epic tribulations and great triumphs, we all know mediocrity generally plagues an average amount of missions. This past weekend in Tahoe helped proved the fact that, like people, 49% of adventures are below average.

This particular median escapade started when JT Holmes, Jason Abraham, Elyse Saugstad and I decided to skip out on the White Ribbon of Death on Red Dog at Squaw Valley for one day and mish it down to Carson Pass for a backcountry outing.



Our planned destination. Round Top peak.



My ambitious mind had planned to tackle the Crescent Moon couloir (looker's right chute) in low-tide gnar conditions ala Jeremy Jones.
My eyes upon first arrival then said, "Well low-tide can't even begin to explain how dry that couloir is". Mediocrity was inching its way closer.

Looker's right couloir looking rockier than Tiger Wood's marriage.


So immediately our grandiose dreams were vanquished. But we just got up at 6:00 am, drove an hour and a half and didn't want to ski another day on the W.R.O.D. at Squaw. So we skinned on.

"We're not turning around. We're going that way!"



"We found the low-tide gnar!"



The gnarliest of the gnar. Sketchy-log creek-crossing on loose skins and Alpine Trekkers (aka Alpine Day Wreckers).



Skinning up the mediocre.



Average.




And then the trip got so average that photographerJason Abraham didn't even take his camera out. So there was a total of zero pictures of skiing. Yup. Count that. Zero. We skied right back down our skin track on a solid 20 degree pitch. Whoopee.


So yes, this outing was dramatically anti-climactic. So to leave you all with at least something interesting. Here's a picture of the super-duper famous JT "Birdman" Holmes post-porty-a-potty-poo. It was such an important moment that I had to take a picture of another person taking a picture of JT's post-dump exit. It smelled bad and was his second dump of three that day. Well, I guess that's above average.

Labels: Backcountry, backcountry skiing, Backcountry Tahoe, Cody Townsend, Elyse Saugstad, jason abraham, JT Holmes

Comments:

 Eric Asistin
no one go in there for about 35-45 min.

# : December 10, 2009 2:54 PM

 

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Today, Cody, Abro and Elyse and I went to look for some snow that would sustain our weight for some turns. Why is it that we always look like such dorks when we go ski touring?

We chose Roundtop Mountain off of Carson Pass. It is 10,100 feet high, so we figured maybe there would be some snow there, in a gully or a chute where the wind blew it in...

The first backcountry outing of the year, be it on a snowmobile, skis with skins, snowboard and snow shoes, splitboard, it always is a bit of a trial in just re-figuring out how to travel across snow for a day, efficiently. With this in mind, it is nice for that day to be a mellow one. Not one in which you need to race out there to get to the fresh tracks, and not one with any big expectations for film or photos. By the time those days roll around, you need to be dialed.

There is just so much stuff that needs to be part of the routine, and on day 1, there is no routine. Today, I forgot my goggles and the footbeds for my ski boots. With no need to get rad, it was all good.

Because of some creek crossings, we took a roundabout way to the Roundtop Lake and looked around at slim pickings for turns around Rountop Mountain. We weren't surprised and we were in it for the hike, so we kept going and found some snow. It was wind crusted snow amidst a minefield of rocks, but it was backcountry skiing. We'd found what we were looking for, and Abro found that he had forgotten the memory card for his big heavy professional photographer camera, but at least he had carried it along for the 5 mile round trip.

After day one, it is good to make mental note of how the day went, what you ingested, what worked, what didn't. Make note of how much hiking you are capable of doing, and how exhausted you were.

Today I carried just a bottle of Gatorade and a sandwich. No avy beacon or shovel or probe. I wish there were enough snow for avalanches to be a concern, but there simply isn't. I drank about 6 ounces only, it was cold, not much sweating. I hiked about 1000 vertical feet, and could have done much more. My Nordica Agressor boots were comfortable right out of the box, and my skins seem to be sticky enough to last another season.

One big dump, and it is on!

Labels: Abro, Cody Townsend, Elevated Image Photography, Elyse Saugstad, J.T. Holmes, jason abraham, skiing in tahoe

Comments:

 jeremy
Nothing better than some sketchy early season turns near round top, If I had a nickel for every time I've done that... I'd have about 30 cents.

# : December 1, 2009 5:41 PM

 

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