The POLAR STAR - Full FILM - Ski Mountaineering in an Arctic Land of Giants - The FIFTY 45/50
[Music] this is the kind of snow to me where you could get a wind slab pull out like a pocket yeah and it could take you off your feet but it's only going to break Beneath Your Feet it's controllable but still kind of scary y oh a little Slough ah yeah the left yeah yeah yeah good yeah it's good to keep an eye on top yep but that did make my heart [Music] race there is that's a bit steep huh yeah yeah it's a it's a really weird snow pack like I'm totally fine with turning around and being like yeah no but also it's the kind of wind slab that's like super manageable yeah can I slowly there have a look and see but um looks a bit less wind effect than low in the lower part I think that's a good idea we go out there make it go yep let's go have a look let's go have a look yeah this is the Polar Star Kolar it's the Crown Jewel of the Endless ski lines set on the Artic island called Baffin it's a ski line that according to some opinionated ski mountaining authors is one of the 50 classic ski descents of North America it's a a perfect ski line set in a place that feels surreal out of the pages of a fairy tale I'm Cody Townsen and I'm here to check it off my list in my quest of skiing all 50 classic lines we are maybe a quarter up the cooler now and it feels better down in the coolar might be a bit more windy so that's why a bit more slabs the higher up we go the better it actually feels we still have to be careful on this kol we always keep an eye what can come from top that's a very very beautiful to be [Music] here the incredible condition I feel like wly [Music] stacked [Music] [Applause] oh boy oh wow oh yeah bab thank you w this place is incredible have y yeah man did well I would say the hardest part of the Polar Star Kolar the Crocs of this line well started like 7 days ago 7 days ago we flew to Vancouver Canada second stop Yellow Knife we landed in yo knife with most of our bags most of them thank you for calling your county baggage office we apologize for the intervenience ca you we are experiencing exceptionally High car volumes at this moment welcome to Canada this is Clara how I help you hi Clara uh my name is Cody Townsen I have uh Missing bags theyve been missing for 2 days so you're saying they will be on the flight tonight you will your bag as as possible surely okay pretty much worried that if these bags don't show up this trip okay canell and this incredible Charter flight that we have scheduled would be forfeited and it's probably the most money I've ever spent on any single thing in my life besides buying a home we got him dude it's we can go to Baffin Island first leg which has taking 3 days is done we're having issues since it's a small plane we're flying very far there's two stops for fuel fuel that are needed all the major towns that they can stop at are covered in freezing fog and or have run out of fuel for the winter if we flew out yesterday we would have had perfect weather you can barely see anything that's that's still on by the way Ah that's fine you got I'm good but not that good because of that if we don't fly out today we can't fly out till Thursday but even then who knows about [Music] weather guess what back in the hotel hotel room back at the hotel room yeah this will be the fourth night that we've stayed in this hotel in Yellow Knife yep [ __ ] so you can read the agreement if you like this I'd like you to sign a date and we can confirm that all right with all the other planes booked up we're forced to Charter this big plane which can get us to Clyde River direct soon we will hopefully be done with leg two I've got a 4 and 1/2 hour flight what do you think about renting out a plane like this American trip next up Clyde River a small community of a couple thousand indigenous Hunters artists scientists and Educators there we would hire a local guide to take us and our hundreds of pounds of gear out into the wild now we made it this far made it this far it's got a long way to go what worried me was the near impossibility of organizing this ride before our arrival we'd have to go to town and ask around for how to get us to camp at Sam Ford Fjord and then negotiate a price on the [Music] spot thankfully we found Andy a local Hunter and guide and a few of his friends to haul us out doing it we're doing it for about 8 hours we rode on snowmobiles and hand build Kooks over the rough Tundra and frozen ocean as we entered Sam for Fjord Andy halted he saw black Speck on the horizon oh damn one shot one shot nice one buddy it is nice work dude as Andy loaded up the 300lb bearded seal it was the first sign of just how Wild of a world we had stepped into papen island is the fifth largest island in the world and an ancient home to Tuli Dorset and Inuit peoples communities who have lived off this land for thousands of years going jumping around oh yeah we had a local Hunter who got a Tagan and gifted it to us so we eat it tonight peace 3 billion year old Granite Towers up 5,000 ft above the Frozen fjords and Iceberg strewn Coast it's an Arctic desert that only gets about 8 in of precipitation per year but the time carved cffs in the rock set up a Dreamland for a skier GS collect snow like a lint trap and turn tiny dustings into feet of snow we had finally arrived Bernie guess what why today is Tuesday so it is taking so Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday to six days to get to Camp we woke up a mile away from our objective a quick sled ride put us at the base of the Polar Star Kolar we boot packed up for 4 hours up the 3600 ft North facing run seven long days after leaving our homes we were at the top on the first possible day to ski it [Music] half really good conditions half not to good cuz there's some Icy patches you're hitting I think it's only going to get better though woo oh my God that was Unreal that was so good that was some of the best turns of the Season [ __ ] yeah dude nice one the snow is incredible W woo yeah [Applause] oh my God I don't want to stop this is one of the best cools I've ever seen in my life is unbelievable [Music] ridiculous [Music] [Music] very good oh my God that is a good girl that's something that's something okay well the Polar Star cool is checked off the 50 classic list 45 done but we still got nine days in baffing so what are we going to do Viv we're going skiing this is party time so who is Vivian Bret and why is he here well Vivan is possibly the best technical steep skier in the world born to the mountains and a culture of climbing in shyaman France bian's family has lived continuously in the shaman Valley the birthplace of modern alpinism and ski mountaining since the [Music] 1600s he's an ifmga guide that teaches other guides has opened up hundreds of insane exposed first descents and he's your favorite ski Mountain's favorite ski mountain year but I got to say when I first saw him ski in video like downside up and between the lines I didn't want to ski with him I thought he was a typical Frenchman Conquering the most death defying lines on the planet cuz that's what you do in Shaman his Mastery of the Steeps was seemingly based on how much risk he was willing to take but this last season I met up with him and Tahoe we immediately hit it off and I knew I was wrong about Viv I invited him on this trip his goal seemed obvious to ski in one of the most unique places on the planet my goal was different though there was something much more to a sort of secret I need you to find out on what made him so special climbing and skiing with Vivien and Baffin who was going to be a master class in ski Mount nearing our aim was to find unsk skied lines lines with rock steps choke points and mix climbing lines that would push me further than any of the previous 45 lines in this project have pushed me before maybe and hopefully show me what it takes to be a master of moving through the mountains I don't know this one looks fun to me cuz it's got a little Technical and then ripping pal it's a beautiful line H going deep into the fur we came across this arcing sickle just shy of 3,000 vert with a couple of dry sections that we'd have to pass somehow to Summit as a middling climber it was my first opportunity to learn from [Music] viven [Music] magnific might be a place to put a [Music] p just to protect myself a [Music] bit [Music] okay [Applause] [Music] got it my [Music] friend Bango [Music] oh nice that's his reaction he so good it's so [Music] [Music] good okay now how how the [ __ ] do we do [Music] [Music] this so now you clip to your harness got it and I will help you with the roope so good my friend didn't I say we're going literally holded up this that was [ __ ] [Music] impressive yeah [Music] [Music] bang bang no turns through the CHS [Music] out [Music] nice Vivian's precision and technique stood out to me as we descended through Punchy and icy snow all while being above exposure I did my best to mimic every one of his turns so what is this B this is a it's paper it's like a Chinese finger trap eh yeah we just yeah many times not [Music] bad got it woo the [Music] escaper didn't know it at the time but it was here that I first got a hint of who viven truly was sure it was amazing watching them flash hard mix climbing and make Precision turns but I was beginning to see something [Music] more look how beautiful it is we have decided we'd like to call that the matriarch after a good friend Hillary Nelson who was here just last year and the last line that you and I brna skied with her was called the patriarch I completely understand and that's a really really beautiful [Music] name [Music] after a couple incredible days we were quickly reminded of how harsh the Artic can be at 2 a.m. we were suddenly awakened by a roar an a tent being shredded to Pieces yeah look at that looks like a freaking polar bear attack I borrowed the Dome Tent I think I just bought it I guess you just bought it that's it down okay we are off to ski what his name is the Model T [Music] cooler after the load of overnight wind we opted for one of the few lines you can access from in the back to avoid the potential for winds slab Avalanches while climbing [Music] up at the top of our coolar but this bowl behind us is a bit wind loaded so we're going to do some ski cutting and establish some stability before dropping in I don't know if you know this technique no I put one sling here okay turn around you so after thought I clip the Rope here okay and when you ski the the Rope can turn around you you you don't feel the Rope yeah yeah very well my [Music] friend feeling very good so far yeah little thick here but like no shooting cracks okay from the bottom a large chock Stone looked to block clean ski using more ropes and anchors in a Repel was probably necessary but viven had a hunch there might be another way [Music] through oh wow very very very small hole but uh maybe [Music] okay w that's work perfect my friend it goes through yeah yes oh that's crazy my woo oh my God this is so sick that's so [Applause] [Music] [Applause] cool okay I'm dropping [Music] okay [Music] yes two one dropping wo yes that so [Music] cool are you ready ready 3 2 1 go three have fun buddy oh [Music] yeah [Music] yeah oh my God [Music] [Music] yeah oh it's so good my legs are getting tired all right I just stopped about the sunny part it is so good so far are you ready yep [Music] oh my God that's so fun oh this is incredible this place is insane it ain't easy but holy hell is it worth it being here with Viv learning the lessons from him skiing in one of the most unique places I've ever seen this is trip of a lifetime oh my God w oh my god oh yeah that was so [ __ ] fun that was so really really really good yeah on the day we drove into Camp from Clyde River Ian and I had spotted a line that we didn't recognize from any trip reports or guide books the prior skiers have written about this area it was smack dab in the middle of the most stack Zone the Ford wall it was the narrowest steepest and most technical line on the wall two cruxes and possibly narrow and an upper section that looked as steep as it gets we discussed it multiple times over the days it kept calling our name [Music] so we just arrived to the base of the first Crux yep we're good good my friend just looks a little thin and potentially loose not super steep but cracks of its [Music] own amigo I'm glad we have Viv here because um you know we lived in shamani together he's still living there I don't and it's kind of looked up to people like him a lot so it's pretty cool to have him here shitty rock yeah here to the right that's tricky to the left [Music] also looks pretty hly found the SP for a cam that's [Music] [ __ ] that's a [ __ ] hey there very tricky and exposed huh but that's okay my friend classic Alpine style lots of bad Rock here I'm at the end of the rope and I can't find a solution I will use my skis okay the B is finally o you can uh climb all right I'm up here I'm so glad we didn't do this I know I think you and I probably would have just been like oh let's try and then got been like this is kind of sketchy I'd be like [ __ ] this oh yeah just straight up dirt it's like you can't even put your axe [Music] anywhere [Music] wow that is shitty [Music] right we will see the last part huh but if that's all snow that's good wow it's thin Rocky yeah [Music] [Applause] [Music] wow not easy huh [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is uh interesting yeah all right it's very real really steep really steep oh yeah yeah yeah is this even steeper sham oh yeah yeah okay good really steep we climb because we want to go on the top we locked off we locked off what up [Music] want uh you find protection yeah I try good cuz if he falls we're getting taken out y glad you found something [Music] yeah what a badass this last little part looks pretty [Music] tricky oh ow [Music] Rock I need a coffee oh wa was on the helmet that was on the helmet I am thank you Smith for making a climbing helmet that was on my [ __ ] shoulder oh another woo yes my friend woo big big fight okay the ba is on you can uh you can [Music] climb [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] how the [ __ ] did he lead [Music] that [Music] yeah wow that was a Crux that was definitely the hardest coming of the 50 by far by far by far not even close oh my God nice work yeah you too [ __ ] that was good all right let's do the yeah last bit that's what was that I hope that was like not like easy for you no no no no big mission H yeah yeah no no no big mission the hardest things it it was really hard to protect really hard the The Rock it's really hard to protect and climb which usually makes for very spicy mu pante incredible we on the top of the line I did not think we'd actually get here that was a dog fight with a mountain nice work holy [ __ ] go good stay here [Music] yep oh I just saw I just saw one big rock fall down way on the bottom so I [Music] play all right let's get off this thing before it gets dark so off the repel we got our skis on we in the sunlight it is beautiful but that's a pretty quick warming things get loose because of that um so what we're going to try and do is get down get to a safe space under this little cave that we found and blade from hang out there till the sun goes down and then see the rest we're even pretty vulnerable right [Music] now oh that is a fun turn [Music] d [Music] as we skied down we didn't see all the bomb holes from falling rocks on the shelves above us on the Lookers left little did we know our safe spot was right in the line of fire maybe we wait here huh cuz we are saf here B we're going to wait for you here we're in a good safe spot how B fell I turned the camera off moments after I heard an ominous sound of something tearing through the sky from thousands of feet above us a massive rockfall was coming down my microphone was on and I caught the moment the rock slammed into the snow know 10 ft in front of [Music] [Music] us are you okay oh my God we just had a massive rockfall guys we are all good we are all good [Music] where did he [Music] land there on the repel there there there there there we waited another 30 minutes for the mountain to continue to cool as the sun set we ran one at a time to a bay station that laid right in the firing line to repel down another couple hundred ft completely exposed to the mountain swim yeah that was so scary yeah I can see that you're just like there's rocks falling I know they're coming but I don't know where they're coming from just [ __ ] hugged theck I I was just like this just like yeah yeah and then you're like all of a sudden saw one straight in front of us like like that's scary okay my friend I'm down of the [Music] rapel impacts from rockfall [Music] let me know if you hear anything yes I'm here C in the hole come with me I don't want to leave a B alone what was that I don't want to leave B alone to T the rope and everything where is he he's at the job okay be I am off F we'll wait for you here copy I'm moving down right Mountain please be quiet for me right now and I appreciate you in our time I see you next time all right let's go [Music] here we are safe but if that's if the rock tight here they can come here yeah you mid orang you can go just down and take off your put on your ski be careful with the The Rock [Music] okay my friend I'm out of the kol I'm on my way Boni see Boni see you soon see you [Music] soon my I should do that too [Music] I'm does it not feel good to be down [Music] here dude incredible day in the mountains with you incredible day to watch you work it's all time what a day of good work guys that's cool okay if you don't think about the rockfall everything was pretty amazing yeah woo how a good day guys that was a great day oh yeah big day okay let's go drink some whiskey back at camp Oh I think yeah he is we skied a complex technical line a likely first descent it was all things the mountains provide both in Stoke in challenge in fear and in learning Vivian's creat creativity in Anchor building climbing skills and our team's awareness to the Mountain's moods safe spots and tactics got us up down and off the line safely it was the embodiment of technical ski mountaining with viven showing us how he's done what he's done in the mountains safely for decades yet one thing I hadn't quite figured out after 10 days on the ice I knew Viv wasn't the adrenaline fueled egomaniac I once believed and just but it wasn't until our last day at Camp as I was sitting on the snowmobile writing in my notebook thoughts on what this film was going to be about when I looked up it hit me I had finally realized Vivian's secret to who he was as one guide taught another guide how to ski on a little ice bul on the edge of the Fjord I realized that vivien's death Define skiing the Quest for Perfection and his rise to be one of the best wasn't born of a desire to be the best it was just a byproduct a side effect of an intense passion for skiing for the mountains for learning for teaching from the side hits in the matriarch to the Raging Stoke un skiing through a tunnel to a Thousand Laughs and yes my friends the secret was right in front of my face the entire time Viv is happy to be scared happy to turn around happy happy to ski the Mellow to ski the extreme to teach others and happy just to be in the mountains it took a 10-day trip to one of the most spectacular places on the planet to learn that the secret to Vivian's success was simply a desire as viven always says to let's go have a look let's go have a look yeah [Music] wa [Music] da d [Applause] [Music] da
2023-11-21 16:14
