We are honored and excited to begin our second round of Instagram content for Sports Illustrated with a full week of photos from Dean “Blotto” Gray! This marks one of only a few times the classic publication has featured snowboarding so follow along as we share Blotto’s riders eye perspective on the sport through his work with Burton Snowboards.
“It’s long been the dream of both professional and recreational snowboarders to visit Alaska and explore these legendary, yet rugged and dangerous mountains on a snowboard. At just 21 years of age, @ben_ferguson has risen quickly in the sport due to his natural talent, determination to make the most of his skillset, and relentless hard work and focus, so a trip to Haines (in Southeast Alaska) was on the shortlist.
Here you see Ben ready to drop in on a slope called Goat Towers, which measures 1500 vertical feet in height at 55 degrees in angle, providing an extremely quick descent on varied snowpack littered with rocks, crevasses and bergschrund hazards. After numerous snowpack safety checks and examining the most creative route downhill, it was determined this slope would be perfect for descent. Ben handled this zone like a seasoned pro, providing picture perfect moments on five different descents over the course of three hours, not a bad way to kick off a big mountain career on your very first visit to Alaska!” – Blotto
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