Ep 13: Cody Townsend’s Tips & Techniques for Steep Freeskiing | Salomon How-To

In this episode of Salomon’s How-To series, Salomon athlete Cody Townsend shares some helpful tips and techniques for approaching, climbing and skiing couloirs. Cody takes you into the field as he pursues “The Fifty Project”, demonstrating the tricks and techniques highlighted. The content in this video is for experienced backcountry travellers and does not replace instruction from a certified guide.
Featuring:
Cody Townsend, Bjarne Salén
Shot by Hazen Woolson, Bjarne Salén
Produced and edited by Switchback Entertainment
00:00 Intro
01:23 Hasty Pits
02:20 Sidehill Skinning
03:15 Invert Your Poles
04:08 Shoulders Downhill
05:35 Pivot Turn
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[@davemorris3006]

I love the "keep tips in the snow" tip for pivot turns. It helps even on more moderate terrain. I suggest exactly that to friends who are way out in the back seat skiing powder. And I *try* to remember it myself when things get hairy!

[@AndreiKucharavy]

5:50: "You straight-line it" - hit pause, will go test that out. Brb.

[@JR-Canada]

THANK YOU SO MUCH SALOMON for posting these kind of SKIING TIPS videos from pros!! I will be closely watching all your videos on this channel from now on!

[@RyandeMilliano]

These tips are extremely helpful, as someone who transitioned from being a strong snowboarder to a skier. I found the super steep stuff intimidating and was completely guilty of leaning my shoulders uphill and losing my downhill edge often. I'd be keen to hear your expertise when it comes to skiing drops in steep, stiffer snow terrain, that's another area I seem to washout or gain too much speed. Cheers Cody. Continue to be awesome.

[@hopnglo680]

Thanks Cody. The shoulders thing is a great tip. I’ve figured this out on my own, but it’s great to hear it from you. Another tip I like in steep terrain is try to keep the ski moving forwards if possible. A side sliding ski is not very predictable and doesn’t hold an edge as well.

[@georgecuster527]

Thank you , Cody . You are a scholar and a fine ambassador for Salomon .

[@mpblikes2ski]

Nice Cody... For those pivot turns, I find if I emphasize reaching ahead and down with my pole plant, I can swing the tails around nicely while keeping those tips in contact with the snow. Just like your shoulder position instruction, It feels a little scary to reach out/down on a super steep techy slope, but in just the same way, when your skis come around you are in that flat to downhill position with your shoulders and you can get a good hold on that uphill edge ready to initiate the next pivot turn.

[@tavakessler]

Great video! All super useful tips

[@SergFilippenko]

Extremely cool, informative and useful! Thanks Cody!

[@justingelb2508]

Cody...you're such a dreamboat

[@blangeleven]

Not sure if I'll ever ski a couloir, but I watched the whole thing. Cheers, Cody.

[@scottfederoff353]

I never thought of using the poles upside down. Great idea. Agree on the tips down and pivot on narrow steep terrain. I can't tell you how many times I yelled keep forward and hands down the hill to my kids when teaching them how to ski, but I eventually got them all to be experts on inbounds skiing. Thanks as always for a great video!

[@SalomonTV]

Glad to help!

[@grizzkid795]

The ski tips on the snow is an interesting one and counter to Saudan's original windshield wiper or Valencent's pedal hop. I think it creates a smoother and more energy efficient turn. Not sure how much equipment evolution has changed this or not. I try to do that wirh Telemark technique also, which really feels cool.

[@OutOfBoundsPodcast]

We do love Cody.

[@SalomonTV]

We do too!

[@rainerburgdorfer4017]

I actually learned a few things! Great video!

[@ehypsilantis2771]

This is excellent Cody. I like the advice on keeping tips on the snow while "jump turning." I've found myself bringing the entire ski off of the snow. Yours seems a more stable approach and I will give it try out East at Stowe steeps and off trail before heading West later in the season.

[@OnceUponaSaga]

5:47 - Cody’s eyes when he says “you straight line it!” 😂😂😂 #SagaBingeWatchingSalomonTV

[@stevielightnin9771]

Nice CT. Keep getting rad.

[@sadowski_music]

I love the way you spell Andrzej Bargiel 😀

[@jeremysides2341]

Killer Vlog Cody. What touring binding and boots are you running this year

[@andrewsteavpack9079]

Hearing Cody say hire a guide if you don’t have a ton of experience in steep backcountry terrain, thinking about Cody taking Alex Honnold on Mt. Whitney but Alex summited and pizza’d down without Cody 😂 taking a selfie with a climber during his descent

[@stevesellers2720]

That video shot Cody’s value way up in my mind. It took great humility for him to post that episode (in a pro ski world that is a rare commodity); only a person of great character could do that

[@src248]

It's really encouraging when Cody says a technique that I started doing naturally is something that takes "years of mastery" to learn. It just seemed like the best way to get the skis around without the tails grabbing, idk!

[@daemkru]

Great video...what poles are you using?

[@jeffstandish9275]

Cody, great stuff. I am curious from a skiing/scientific perspective, when you cut a "hasty", what are you actually looking for in snow behavior? I am not trained in avalanche conditions, but curious what characteristics you are looking for in a hasty pit that tell you to keep going up vs. turn around? Thanks!

[@CodyTownsend]

Not as much behavior as a hasty is so rough and inaccurate for properly checking layer behavior, but more just the depth of specific layers and how they are changing on the way up.

[@Wanderlust073]

Using the pole as a guard rail for the ski on steep slopes when skinning has proven to be such a ridiculously useful tip...

[@markthomasson5077]

And a tip for the tip…of your ski pole, wrap in tape to protect it from the ski edge

[@chrispippert-winter7671]

Another advise... while descenting start to sing your favorite song.. it relaxes your body control?:)

[@jacknorie8530]

Hey Cody enjoyed seeing you heading up a chute wearing some kind of quik stash bear paws on your boots. Where'd you get those? Homemade?? Great vid...cheers.

[@weirdbeard1980]

Good stuff. Strong angulation skills are so important in steeps. That feeling of knowing a mistake could end your life is scary but addicting.

[@antonigornik640]

You pronounced Andrzej Bargiel like a pro! (It should be more 'Barghiel', but anyway)

[@stevensleeswijkvisser2648]

Thanx Cody, great vid ! Any advice on steep icy slopes ? Or steep narrow (icy) couloirs ? Oke, I shoud not be there in the first place, but just in case ?

[@CodyTownsend]

Yeah! Avoid 'em if at all possible. But if you get in those scenarios extremely slow movement like side-stepping is warranted along with a healthy use of ice axes.

[@alexcouret]

Great tips! What's a sign that will make you come down when you dig snow on your way up?

[@CodyTownsend]

Usually starting to see a lot of wind loading on a suspect surface layer that was identified in the avy report. Hasty pits are rough and uncalculated, so you want to primarily rely on avy reports or full pit analysis. The hasty just helps create small data points to your already formed hypothesis previous to climbing.

[@WaechterDerNacht]

all i understood was: "... tight couloirs ... straight line ..." :-P definitely gonna do some more mellow touring before i get to the level of straight lineing a couloir. I'd better start learning to jump properly and maybe work towards a 360... would love to be able to throw a stylish 360 over a windlip or a small hill.

[@Ok-551]

How about altitude sickness? Hydration etc.. I totally screwed myself up last week in the hike to terrain at breck last week. Coughing up a lung.

[@blameitonben]

I was skiing a steep at my local hill last year. It looked like powder but had been sunbaked from the day before, turns out it was breakable crust. I found I had to step christie turns like when I was 8 years old to get the ski engage a downhill for a turn, but control because I kept breaking below the crust. Any other advice for skiing when you encounter awful snow snow on steep terrain?

[@thorstenreitz7302]

Crusty and steep really sucks. I usually make long traverses, look for a place like a little mogul, and will make an explosive jump turn in that place to get around. Doesn't always work cleanly though :).

[@axelstumpp3559]

I would be interested in the transition from skinnung+kickturns into booting it up. What are your thoughts on this and when to switch from skinning to booting. Angle? Snow Conditions?

[@CodyTownsend]

When you can't skin anymore! Skin as long as you can and as safe as you can.

[@ambc38vsxn]

How to hold tips on the snow with rockered skis like QST Blank? Add more edge? But then it will add some extra time (on a steep terrain) to change edges..

[@sebastianfreihofner729]

as long as your forward enough to land centered over your downhill foot (shoulders downhill if you will), you will be able to stay in balance and control and complete your turn successfully. Whether your ski tip remains 100% on the ground or not during the 'hop' phase.. doesn't really matter. Watch a lot of Cody's turns, the tips of his skis also lift off, but the tails often lift more.

[@danmajor9951]

So, when it gets steep and narrow, just straight line. Got it. Video cut out, was there anything after that?!

[@peterwylie8270]

Cody do you wear a size up shell jacket when skiing in these steeps in order to put a second layer or a puffy insulated jacket underneath or do you wear your normal size shell jacket

[@CodyTownsend]

No, I keep it at my normal XL fit. But it's good to have a jacket baggy enough to layer under for sure.

[@freddiehunter8629]

Thoughts on skiing with an ice axe in your hand as well as your pole, or just the axe?

[@CodyTownsend]

Depends but if I have my axe out, it's usually in my hand with my pole. If it gets really dicey, then I'll put both poles in one hand and just the axe in that hand.

[@waltoneschuk2615]

Cody who manufactures the hybrid crampon snow shoe devices I see in some of the video?

[@siegeengine1670]

Crampow by Auftriib

[@roman21581]

Do you lock out your bindings in the descent?

[@CodyTownsend]

Depends on the terrain and snowpack. If there is serious exposure, I lock them out. If it's mellow and soft, then I keep them unlocked.

[@galencarrico3049]

Would it be beneficial to reduce the size of your poles, if adjustable, when using the inverted pole method as a tool with more purchase than the ice axe in varying snow conditions? Great video…learned a ton!

[@Osnosis]

Absolutely. One of,the reasons for adjustable poles. Even on a long uphill traverse, different lengths can help. The drawback is the strength of the clamp.

[@jcreinosa7867]

What ski poles are the ones in this video?

[@folkrm3298]

Folkrm Poles!

[@julianbreitler]

Hey just wanted to ask what ski that is on the far left ? New 118 ?

[@CMAT17]

QST Blank. 112 underfoot

[@doenermoener]

@@CMAT17 No it's not. The white ski in the middle is the QST Blank. The one on the left is wider and has another tip shape.

[@julianbreitler]

@@doenermoener excatly shape wise it looks similar to the 118

[@ThatGuyYouKnow23]

@@julianbreitler a prototype blank from earlier in development while it was still more similar to 118 is my guess

[@simontrudel4165]

Do you adjust your pole lengths for skiing steeps?

[@CodyTownsend]

I do! I go as short as possible.

[@jefffski]

Good vid. I liked how you explained hop/pivot turns. Now, can I convince you to say couloir (cool 'w+are)rather than coular?

[@jackyong815]

Love it! ❤️ ⁠❤️ ⁠❤️ ⁠❤️ ⁠❤️ ⁠❤️⁠ ⁠ Just when you thought your cool, in this year the 100th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party #CCP, thrilled to know Salomon is now owned by ANTA of CHINA #MadeInChina2025 #BeltAndRoad #BeijingOlympics2022 #OccupyMars2024 #UyghursBuddyBuddy 🇨🇳⁠ 🇨🇳 ⁠🇨🇳⁠ 🇨🇳

[@nicholasrandell2310]

Seems like we might have stepped out of the realm of "How to get into backcountry skiing" for the last couple videos. Still loving the content, but retitling the series might help keep beginners from getting into trouble.

[@JakkeJakobsen]

He said it in the video multiple times. For expert skiers. If people don't listen to what Cody said, it could've been called how to ski like the Teletubbies and it would make no difference

[@RydenAround]

Please

[@berniebeckerman77]

I stopped watching at 5:50...take home message is... straight line the couloir!

[@mettflow2648]

there is only one helpful tip really: fucking SEND ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

[@area51r]

I UNsubscribed to Cody when he made his little BLM video and tried to fake cry about the whole thing... peace out and thumbs down

[@WilliamWinslow]

Sounds like a “you problem” mate

[@area51r]

@@WilliamWinslow not if you are trying to get views, it's cody's problem because I don't watch. see how that works?

[@davidh2299]

funny you're on his video and commenting which drives visibility of his channel. you really OWNED him though

[@area51r]

@@davidh2299 sorry but no

[@area51r]

lol cody looks like a homeless dude begging for change in downtown san francisco

[@salomonjl1]

Dear Cody, Thanks a lot for your videos. Just a question. I can see that you have sort of snow shoes under your crampons when you are walking up couloirs. I can't find some online. Is it home made or you buy it somewhere. All the best, Jean-Louis

[@CodyTownsend]

Watch my channel for a soon-to-be released bonus episode on this exact subject.