Dan is actually pretty good in that sierra these days, certainly does a LOT better than most people could (definately including me!) but when you show that level of comitment on such a variable grip surface and going as close as he does to the pillars in there, its always got the potential for disaster (in fact I think in all the times he has been down he has yet to leave without having at least one crash, LOL)
He was frequently within less than a foot of the pillars!