When I was 11 years old, my family and I went to Mount Rushmore on vacation. My father had heard about Korczak and his Crazy Horse Monument and took us to see it. When we met Korczk, he took us on a tour of his home and studio that faced the mountain. He rolled out a completed alabaster sculpture of his vision for the Crazy Horse Monument. The sculpture was rolled out on rails like you’d see in a mine. The outstretched hand of the sculpture pointed directly to the mountain. It was beautiful and impressive. When we met him, he’d already been blasting away at it for 17 years and only managed to create an L-shape in the side of the mountain. Today, that would be the face and the top of the arm. Even as an 11 yr. old, I realized he wouldn’t live long enough to see its completion. So I asked him who would finish it and he told me he had 10 children! Now, 60 years later, I’m thinking I won’t live long enough to see its completion! But I never forgot meeting him, his beautiful sculpture and his vision. That was a great vacation trip.

This will be greatest monument ever, especially in this fantastic landscape !

Medieval cathedrals were often constructed over multiple generations. The master masons who designed them often never lived to see their completion. Projects such as these have been rarely seen since. Our technological progress makes it easy to fit our ambitions into a single life. We lack the patience to try for anything loftier. And worse, we grow accustomed to it. Economic incentives limit our outlook to the next quarter. Looming crises are dismissed as problems for the next generation. We loose the far sighted perspective that men once had. But were we to recover that perspective, what great things we could accomplish, for ourselves and the world.

I know it won't happen in my lifetime but I hope that some day this gets finished.

The hand is beautiful ❤

No government help. Freedom on display.

This is absolutely impressive! What an incredible undertaking!

WOW! You can see the hand now. The detail is incredible! The thumb nail and fingernails... Such a majestic place. So glad they carved this monument honoring Crazy Horse and are still working on it. Can’t wait to see it in person

Absolutely stunning to see the hand and arm take shape!

Looking good. Maybe anther 50 years before it will be completed.

I'll be dad,for the 1st time, in 2 months.Hope one day I'll be there to visit that masterpiece with my daughter.Can't wait❤. All the best from all those who are working there at the moment. Greetings from Italy .

The detail and dedication is very impressive. It’s coming together just as Korczak and Standing Bear’s vision foretold. This is a living masterpiece. RIP Ruth K & Casimir

I was working for Phillips66 Oil Co. in Rapid City SD in 1974 and Korczak Ziolkowski was using our fuel and lubricants in all his equipment . I spent a day with him on the mountain and the evening at his home. He drove me all over the area in his jeep and we drank whiskey in his living room. His wife Ruth brought it to us straight, in water glass tumblers!! (after a day with no meals....ugh!) He was a wonderful guy, full of enthusiasm and loving life and his gigantic project. He knew that he would not live to finish the sculpture , and he said so. He hoped that his family and foundation would complete it someday. However, nearby Rapid City is the location of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology , one of the premier hard rock mining engineering schools in the nation. I studied Civil Engineering there in the years following my visits with Korczak, and expert geophysical scientists and mining engineers at the school had determined that the Crazy Horse sculpture could never be completed because the rock the mountain is comprised of is not monolithic or uniform and could never support the type of sculpture that Ziolkowski envisioned. I can clearly see that coming true in this video made 50 years after I stood on the top of the mountain with Korczak. There's been very little change or progress in 50 years, and what has been done bears only a passing resemblance to the models and drawings Ziolkowski made originally. Too bad - His was a magnificent vision , but the raw material just was not then, and never will be there to make it real.

I hope these workers realize how fortunate they are to be able to work on this, what an honor

What a Great Tribute to Native Americans......

I remember seeing a show titled They Said it Couldn't be Done back in the early 70's when this guy was just starting the project. Impressive how it has progressed since then.

I gotta give a ✋ hand to em. They can carve

What a beautiful giant

I hope we can see so much improvement soon! Can't wait to see the arm in his full glory

I have a piece of the mountain from my visit in 2021.

This is a great place!! Beautiful works all around. My favorite SD attraction.

Wow. Big improvements. Keep it going guys. 👍👌✋️🙌

Amazing

I went to see this statue 9 years ago. It’s just beyond words.

Wikipedia: Crazy Horse (c. 1840 - September 5, 1877) was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by white American settlers on Native American territory and to preserve the traditional way of life of the Lakota people. His participation in several famous battles of the Black Hills War on the northern Great Plains, among them the Fetterman Fight in 1866, in which he acted as a decoy, and the *Battle of the Little Bighorn* in 1876, in which he led a war party to victory, earned him great respect from both his enemies and his own people. In September 1877, four months after surrendering to U.S. troops under General George Crook, Crazy Horse was fatally wounded by a bayonet-wielding military guard while allegedly resisting imprisonment at Camp Robinson in present-day Nebraska. He was honored by the U.S. Postal Service in 1982 with a 13¢ Great Americans series postage stamp.

He lived a noble life and deserves this recognition.

They've come a long way since I was there in 1978, and it looks like many years before it will be completed.

I saw Crazy Horse Monument about 20 years ago, on a road trip. I was very impressed. I want to get up there again to see the progress.

My dad took our family to see Crazy Horse in the 1960's when Mr. Korczak was alive. The drive up the drive lined with his sculptures. they progress is amazing. I love that no government money is being used to build this tribute! I have been there several times, but the last time was 2007. Ready to go in person again.

Wow!Wow!Wow!😊

Went there in 1973, 2004, and 2016. Not sure if they'll be done in my life or not, but still very cool.

Wife and I saw it in July of 73, while visiting Mt Rushmore and the Black Hills. Impressive vision - Doubt if it will be done in my lifetime, as I am 80 now.

When driving cross country in 1979 we visited here, great memories.

My grandparents all lived in South Dakota, from the 30s to the early 2000s (they live long up there), and my paternal GPS lived in Spearfish and Rapid, and I grew up going to the area including the Crazy Horse memorial. I’m amazed, now in my 60s, how it’s come along but still has so far to go. It’s a difficult thing to carve out a mountainside of rock, but it’s looking great.

From first time when I saw this ,it was august 2011,still think that it is a greatest monument in history as pyramides!Glory to the Humanity!!!

the progress is amazing🔆

I was there in the early 90's marveling at the magnificence of this undertaking...warms my Heart that it's being taken ( albeit in baby steps ) to the next level !

Perhaps not finished in the lifetimes of most of us,but what a wonderful tribute to the First Americans.

Magnificently beautiful.

Saw this in 1994 when we were at Mt Rushmore and it was only his face great progress since then

This is a wonderful monument! Been there once and will return again someday!

Thank you so much for this video, it's much easier to see the dimensions than in Progress! More please!❤❤❤

I will definitely go there on vacation

Judging by the progress vs time... I would say about 80~90 years maybe sooner if techniques and all out funding happen. This will be the worlds largest carving in stone.

looks awesome! this is an amazing feat of engineering tbh!

👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️

I saw this 30 years ago. Not much has changed

Majestic ❤

Amazing!!

It's advanced quite a bit since I was there. Excellent.

It will be fantastic when it is done.

Am 70, hope to see it finished in my life time...

Nice flyin!

Very glad to see that it's still being worked on. Was worried that after the driver for the monument passed that the project would too. It will be wonderful when complete.

Cool AF!

I hope I get to see this before I die!

Go on a day they blast. The feel of the shockwave is intense

There are only six guys working on it. No wonder it has taken them decades to complete.

I was there in 77 . We rode motorcycle’s from Minot Air Force Base in N.D. Even then it was well worth the trip . This place needs more press.

63 now, sadly feel I won't be around to see this finished. Last visit was during the 69th Annual Black Hills Classic in 2009.

The hand is taking shape...........I am speechless! what a beauty. Tokehaya 🙏

Sad to say it will never be finished before I die, even with an expectation that I will live another 20 years.

It's truly amazing! Sadly, it probably won't be completed for another 300 years... or more.

It would be very cool if there was an inside look at the Architectural/Civil engineering on this mountain. The careful process on how it’s done, and modeling a very nice video.

I was there when I was 19, That was in 1976. I can’t believe it’s not finished

I remember when they began construction on this in 1948. Amazing to see how far it’s come along!

I hope I live long enough to see it completed .

I was in first grade in 1975 when we went, pretty much just had a hole through the mountain below where his arm would be

Reminds me of the Aerosmith song "Chip Away At The Stone". Keep at it, you WILL finish. Some day soon.

I went in early 90’s. Just his head then. And you were back about 1/4-1/3 mile.

Im 55 and this is the first time I've heard of this, will definitely look up the story

If they made this in China, it would’ve been down in 2 weeks.

The freedom of native Americans for all to see .

Crazy Horse did not want to be photographed while he lived (and wasn't, so we actually don't even know what he looked like for sure) so I kind of doubt he'd want an image in his name be the reason for the carving up of a mountain on sacred Lakota land.

I can hear him now, "Go West young man!"

They say the native who started it will never die until it is completed. Look for this to take 1000 years.

Wow

Hope to see it complicated in my lifetime, as progress is so slow

5,000 years from now people will still stare at it in awe

What is the completion date? 2850?

I bet some Native Americans would see the undisturbed mountain more beautiful than a carving.

A million years from now archaeologists will be trying to convince everyone this is just a natural formation

Hmmmm looks like he is having a heepin good time.

I have visited that place, but didn't get close to the actual sculpture. I figure that at the rate they're progressing on it, they'll have it completed in another 200-300 years.

"My land is where my died lye buried".

Wonder if I'll still be alive when it's finally finished.

What made Crazy Horse CRAZY?

Pretty groovy which drone are you using

I think Ai and the internet are going to extinguished mankind long before this is finished. Still pretty cool, it'll be around long after we're gone

Perhaps in the resurrection, Mr. Korczak will get to finish his project.

As with mount rushmore, this is desecration at a holy site at its fullest. Another slap in the face for the indigenous.

FIRST NATION FOREVER ✊ R.I.P. CRAZY HORSE 🐎

When they finish the arm they should work on the horse next

The estimated time frames for building Egyptian Pyramids is 15 to 30 years!!! 4000 years later, with superior technology and 76 years of working this is the result???

I had no idea his fingers were so short.

I remember the sculptor on television decades ago. He was showing a statue of what was to be the monument. He said experts said he couldn't carve the mountain into a free standing monument that would look just like the statute. The sculptor said if he could make they small statue the monument would work also. He was completely ignoring the square cubed rule that relates to the ratio of strength to size. I don't know if he believed the monument would be stable or just wanted to hype the project for funding purposes. Anyway I hope they don't go past the face and horse head emerging from the rock so the monument stands up to the test of time.

I remember going to see this in 2019. I thought that it was impressive, until I found out that the family had to be told to finish it, or at least work on it rather than just charging admission for people to see it, or they'd lose their protected status on it and have to pay big money to the government over the lack of progress. I'm glad to see that the work is progressing. I also remember seeing that they schedule blasting, and the photo that they had up showing one of the times looked wild.

This and devils peak are alot older than people remember. Like just as old as the sphinx but what ever devils peak use to be was erased with dynamite and the inhabitants erased as well.

Are we there yet?

Why does this take a life time to complete?