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Dissected: The Craziest Line Skied

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By now you’ve seen Cody Townsend’s insane ski line, piercing a remarkably narrow and steep crack in Alaska’s Tordrillo Mountains. If you haven’t, take a minute to have your mind blown and watch it now.

You’ve probably also read one of many reports that he wasn’t the first person to ride the line; Travis Rice first snowboarded the chasm a couple weeks earlier and talks about it with Townsend on his blog.

Personally, I couldn’t care if Townsend was the first or 10th person to ride that line. It’s incredible, committing and takes a huge amount of skill and courage. Props to both riders. My favorite comment about the line is one reader who stated “That guy’s balls are so big I do not know how he made it through that narrow opening.” Agreed.

I’m still wide-eyed with the video and have taken some time to analyze it. Here’s my frame by frame breakdown.

Finally, this is what it was like when Rice rode The Crack. We’ll call it an “artist’s rendition.”



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