The celebrated Carlsbad Gap (located on the campus of Carlsbad High School in San Diego) is now and forever but a mere memory. It’s 2012 demolition was part of a giant multi-million dollar school renovation project, but as the years have passed the infamous spot has retained the same level of reverence it always did.

The Gap lies adjacent to an 11-step staircase and leads into a curved cement walkway…now, at first glance it doesn’t look all that gnarly, but testimonials have made it clear that the experience can vary dramatically from person to person

It truly is a daunting spot, riddled with obstacles that have often left skaters bruised and bloody. In the heyday of The Gap, skaters who attempted it were met with two cracks, one right before the Gap itself, another one after landing, a jarring impeding wall, and an uphill landing. Collin Kennedy claims that the wall sets this gap apart from others because “ it looks like the gap comes up to meet you.” Aside from the wall, the landing is difficult because the slope trows off your balance. “9 out of 10 times Carlsbad will not let you make it, but anywhere else if you land on it first try you’ll roll away” recalls Jeremy Wray.

Wray further recalls how unforgiving the Gap was to the uninitiated, explaining how one could “hear the bones hitting the ground…there’s a sound and a crunch”

See for yourself why The Carlsbad Gap remains such an iconic skate spot, long after its destruction.