WORK ON THE CRAZY HORSE mountain carving, the largest sculpture in the world, continues year-round.

The horizontal work area at the level of the horse’s eye (see painted circle in the illustration above), called the “260 bench,” is completed for this phase of blocking out the rough shape of sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski's carving plan. Removal of the last couple hundred tons in mid-March has extended the equipment access ramp coming from the tunnel under the arm and making the switchback to the center of the mountain.

Meanwhile, the “280 bench” is nearly half finished. Multiple blasts are planned to extend access around the horse's head (the far right edge of the mountain) to the far side of the carving.

Blast rubble from the 260 and 280 benches creates the flat working area for the 300 bench, so named because it is 300 feet below the top of Crazy Horse’s head.

The current work scales back the mountain and leaves a 20-foot “cushion” of rock covering the final finished surface. Once the 219-foot horse's head is roughed out, workers will begin a detail blasting and torch cutting process similar to practices used to create the face of Crazy Horse