It was late spring 2020, in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, when pro skiers and long-time friends Michelle Parker and Cody Townsend started dreaming of an expedition. Townsend is in the midst of a multi-year project, called The Fifty, to try and ski all of the lines in the 2010 book, "50 Classic Ski Descents of North America." He was telling Parker about his idea for a bike touring trip to ride from their mutual hometown of Tahoe City, California, to the Pacific Northwest to ski a few of the lines in the book, once travel restrictions were lifted. Before he could finish, Parker jumped in: “Can I come with you?”
So, the two of them, along with filmmaker Bjarne Salén, who drove his van and carried weeks’ worth of food supplies, set off on a five-and-a-half-week journey, covering 1,033 miles and 46,788 vertical feet on their bikes, plus another 20,000 vertical feet on skis. They successfully climbed and skied three iconic routes: the Newton Clark Headwall on Oregon’s 11,250-foot Mount Hood, and in Washington, the Führer Finger on 14,411-foot Mount Rainier and 8,868-foot Eldorado Peak in the North Cascades. Their efforts are documented in the new short film, “The Mountain Why.” We spoke to Parker about towing a 100-pound trailer, traveling during a pandemic, and the beauty of cheese puffs.