Cody Townsend

It takes the Earth 24 hours to rotate around its axis, 7 rotations in a week, and 365 spins to make a ski film. The making of a ski film is not a hobby for us, but a way of life. Our talented group of athletes train year round, work odd jobs, and dream throughout the off season of what the upcoming season will bring. The filming season begins at the first sighting of snowflakes in November and comes to conclusion with the summer heat waves mid June. In 2008, Rage Films witnessed an unbelievable year that was unsurpassed by others as Rage won award after award, including Best Core Film at X-Dance and Best Film at IF3. This is a reflection on the dedication, perseverance, loyalty, and excitement the crew works for all year. Such is our lives. Such is life.

MSP’s latest triumph, “Attack of La Niña”, chronicles the deepest North American winter in recent history. This new film follows in the footsteps of “The Way I See It”, MSP’s 2010 release and the most decorated ski movie of all time. “Attack of La Niña” showcases the talents of today’s best skiers in a journey through the snowiest winter of their lives. This action-packed film – captured using the most state of the art camera equipment available – demonstrates the limit of what is possible in modern freeskiing. Featuring super steep descents, unbelievably deep powder, and giant airs, “Attack of La Niña” will transport you to Colorado, Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, California, and many other world-class destinations.

Follow the crew as they score in one of Alagna, Italy’s deepest seasons on record. Check out forbidden powder in Poland, massive wedges in Colorado, new gap jumps in Utah, and seven weeks of epic riding conditions in Alaska.

After worldwide acclaim from his viral ‘Line Of The Year’, professional skier Cody Townsend seeks out another ultimate line, this time deep in the remote Boundary Range of Canada. As Cody and his crew face terrifying conditions amongst Canadas’ biggest glaciers, intense raw reactions reveal how personal this ski adventure becomes for everyone. Each team member internally struggles with risk vs reward in their ultimate pursuit of the steepest and best line of their lives. Also shot in Revelstoke and Bella Coola, BC and featuring Elyse Saugstad, Chris Rubens and Dave Treadway.

Matchstick Productions – the powerhouse that brought you award-winning classics like CLAIM, THE WAY I SEE IT, and DAYS OF MY YOUTH – is proud to introduce the funniest, most action-packed ski movie of 2017: DROP EVERYTHING, presented by Under Armour. Following an artful, narrative-driven 2016 film release, the team at Matchstick took a decidedly more lighthearted approach that returns the focus to the featured athletes and world-class action. DROP EVERYTHING features the world’s preeminent freeskiers along with quick-hitting comedy, stunning locations, a potent soundtrack, and stellar cinematography. DROP EVERYTHING is an unexpected, fun-filled adventure through the world of freeskiing – join Matchstick Productions for the ride along with Mark Abma, Markus Eder, Eric Hjorleifson, Michelle Parker, Sammy Carlson, Cody Townsend, Elyse Saugstad, Tanner Rainville, Chris Rubens, Aaron Blunck, Sander Hadley, Connery Lundin, and more!

Red Bull Media House, in association with MSP Films, presents Days Of My Youth, a new action-packed film that examines every skier's lifelong affinity for the sport and proves that skiing can keep you feeling young for a lifetime.

All In follows a talented group of hard-charging women who want to disrupt the male-dominated ski film formula with their own legendary skills.

MSP is proud to bring you the most eagerly awaited ski film of the last two decades. “SUPERHEROES OF STOKE” celebrates MSP’s heritage and 20 years of skiing progression, showcasing icons of the sport and honoring the moments that helped define modern freeskiing. This awe-inspiring new film takes a captivating look at the past, present, and future of freeskiing through comprehensive storytelling and engaging first-person perspectives from those who helped change the game. Throughout the film, MSP honors the heroes who have emerged over the years and pays tribute to the heroes who have been lost. “SUPERHEROES OF STOKE” showcases incredible new action from all corners of the globe, encompassing overhead powder at Chatter Creek, massive spine walls in Alaska’s Tordrillo Mountains, pillow lines and tree jibs in Japan, and massive man-made features at Whistler and Alyeska.

Winterland is a celebration of ski and snowboard culture. Today's mountain athletes can only stand as tall as those who came before, the pirates of the past who followed their own path and passion. This story of adventure is far from over, as a new crop of modern-day pioneers are eager to etch their names in the annals of history. The technology and style might evolve, but the rush, excitement, and pure fun remain eternal, bonding past, present, and future riders. The film will follow these individuals as they leave their own mark on these fabled locations.

For Hunkpapa Lakota skier Connor Ryan, skiing in Ute Territory has always raised questions about being in reciprocity with the land and its people. As an Indigenous person and skier, he empathizes with the injustices that have displaced the Utes and ongoing colonization impacting the Ute people. This story connects conflicted pasts to an awakening in cultural awareness that can create an equitable future for Indigenous people and skiers.

Witness the most extreme big mountain lines from Colorado, Alaska, Wyoming, Utah, and California without the risk of death or frostbite in a release that allows viewers to experience the heart-stopping thrill of the drop from the safety of their own homes. As experienced veterans such as Robb Gaffney, Kip Garr, and J.T Holmes match skills with such skilled up-and-comers as Kyle O'Neal and Cody Townsend, the pace of the backcountry picks up thanks to the musical contributions of Earwig, Fire Sermon, Flogging Mary, and man others.

Two professional skiers, two new mothers, one sponsorship. A quirky documentary style film capturing the highs and lows of two women determined to succeed with side-splitting, hilarious moments.

Cody Townsend has set out on an audacious goal to climb and ski all 50 lines chronicled in the book, "The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America". Peak Obsession is a stand alone film premiered at film festivals around the world and dives into the depths of the mindset behind the project told through the story of two of the more challenging lines in the book, Meteorite Mountain and Pontoon Peak near Valdez, Alaska. Joined by legendary snowboarder Jeremy Jones, along with cameraman Bjarne Salen, they set out on an adventure rife with challenge, exhaustion and a bevy of lessons to learn along the adventure. This is Episode 19 and line 17 and 18 completed for The FIFTY, 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."

Along this goal to ski all fifty of "The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America", there lies a few cruxes. A few lines that stand out as the ultimate test for skiers. Lines that have seen one, maybe two, ski descents in history. One such mountain that is on that list is Mt. St. Elias in Alaska. Mt. St. Elias is a mythical, foreboding peak that jumps straight out of the ocean, 18,008 feet into the sky. It's renowned for violent storms that come straight off the northern pacific and slam into its icy steeps. It is unknown how many people have ever stood on the summit, but it is known that most people that try, fail. In May of 2021, Cody Townsend, Dan Corn, Nick Russell and cinematographer Bjarne Salen set out to climb and ski this Alaskan beast. This is the tale of their adventure.

Mountains can have a certain energy to them and mountain called Split, located in the High Sierra Mountain Range in eastern California, has an energy with a dark side. Split Mountain is a 14,000 foot peak with a perfect couloir dividing two prominent summits. Visually, it’s a line that begs to be skied yet is guarded by a series of icefalls, rock steps and blue ice patches that make it extremely challenging. On top of that, the towering walls of the couloir present significant rockfall hazard along with an upper basin that can create dangerous avalanche conditions. It’s a line that requires patience, perfect timing…and many many attempts. Over the last 4 years, Cody Townsend, Nick Russell and cinematographer Bjarne Salén have been waiting, trying, scoping and learning about the history of this line, its moods, its conditions and its energy to successfully, and safely, ski it.

The FIFTY continues...But with a twist. The goal was simple, ride bikes, loaded down with 100 pounds of climbing, skiing and camping equipment, over 1000 miles to ski three of The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America. A tiring adventure and a sufferfest of course, but in the context of an ongoing global pandemic, a nation divided by chaos and a populace on the brink, a simple adventure throws the simple act of adventure into question. Why purposely suffer? Why selfishly pursue adventure? Why go into the mountains at all? All questions that a month long adventure begins to throw into your mind. Starring Cody Townsend and Michelle Parker, "The Mountain Why" is a ski adventure unlike any normal escape to the wild. This is a short film in The FIFTY series and line 28, 29, and 30.

The most remote classic of The FIFTY, The Polar Star is an iconic ski line. Set on the Arctic island of Baffin, the Polar Star Couloir is aesthetic, breath-taking couloir set among an island of ice, Polar Bears and towering granite walls. Joining up with Cody Townsend on his attempt to ski "The Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America" is one of the world's best ski mountaineers and steep skiers, Vivian Bruchez. Though the goal of the journey is to ski The Polar Star, a plethora of steep, challenging and beautiful ski lines await in Baffin...and a lesson in just what makes Vivian one of the world's best, comes to light.