drop zone

Last weekend I got up to Keystone in Colorado for a day of downhilling. The resort this season has added a new area called the "Drop Zone." They've taken a steep ridge line and created a series of extreme drops.

You reach these off the Paid in Full double-black trail.

Here's what awaits those adventurous enough to veer off the main trail for more challenge:

Alley 1: There are three ramps -- Piranha, Barracuda and Jaws -- ranging from a "small" 5-foot drop to a 14-footer "that allows you to launch up to 22 feet," according to the Keystone website's description.

Alley 2: Called Paranoid, this is a rocky lead-in to a natural take-off point that aims you at a narrow wooden landing between the trees. As you can see from the photo I've included with this article, you have to aim just right; get a bad line in the air and you're gonna have a hard time missing the tree that's tight to the right side of the wood landing. (The guy in my photo made it look easy.)

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