Boarding down an active volcano

  Leon, Nicaragua
Sunday, April 15, 2007

After wandering round the colonial town of Leon in the morning it was time to spend the afternoon volcano boarding.  Around twelve of us jumped onto the back of a pick up and began the journey down dusty back roads to the active volcano Cerro Negro (Black Mountain).  Where's the excitement if there's no risk of an eruption at any moment?  In fact, our guide said there had been eleven tremors  in the last week so an eruption is expected.  The previous eruption lasted for months and covered nearby land in metres of volcanic dust.  Near by villages were buried so the locals just built new houses on top of the old.  It was easier than digging the old ones out.

The volcano's crater

We reached the volcano after an hour and were given our boards.  Unfortunately there's no ski lift to the top so we had to carry our boards to the top - in one hundred degree heat.  We had a few rests on the way up - whenever we got to a shaded bit.

Once at the top we dropped out boards then walked to the crater.  We had the option to either stay there, walk down a bit or head straight to the bottom.  Guess what I opted for?  The guide set off running down the crater.  I wasn't sure what the rush was until my feet started burning.  A few inches under the surface sand the rest of the sand was red hot.  I had to run to prevent third degree burns on my toes.  I did have to stop twice.  Once because my feet were burning and I had a rock to jump on.  And once for a coughing fit because I got a lung full of sulfuric gas.

Climbing out of the volcano's crater

Once at the bottom everybody at the top looked like ants.  Which raided the next question - how do we get out?  The answer was straight up the other side.  Not an easy task as it was both steep and covered in loose scree.  Every step up resulted in a small landslide back so the gain was only a few inches.  Luckily we didn't have any boards to carry on this bit.

Now it was time for the fun bit.  After a briefing on how to steer, break and control we donned goggles and some funky orange jump suits that made us look like inmates from a San Francisco penitentiary.  From the top looking down, there is a 500 meter black sand slope at a 40 degree angle.  But from the top it looks steeper than that.  It is possible to see the first 50 metres of the slope.  Then it appears to disappear into a vertical drop.  We're assured it doesn't but who was going to go first to find out?  Well, I was the first to volunteer.

Boarding down the volcano

The record down is 22 seconds.  After carrying the board all the way up the volcano I wanted a longer ride than that so I didn't try to break it.  Until somebody about halfway down when somebody overtook me.  Then I left the breaks alone.  The boards can get up to some pretty high speeds.  People have been clocked using radar guns doing over 100km/h.  I made it to the bottom in one piece and covered in volcanic dust.  They definitely need a ski lift so that it can be done more than once.