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cerro negro - volcano boarding

Nicaraguas Cerro Negro, a fat, black conical volcano, is famous to many people for many reasons. To geologists, the volcano is a natural marvel, the youngest active volcano in Central America. To the nearby townspeople, it is known for its dangerous temper. Erupting 23 times in the past 100 years, the most recent occurring in 1999. But for tourists like myself, Cerro Negro means only one thingSPEED!

Volcano boarding is an insane sport created by an equally insane, thrill seekerour hostel owner. The Australian founder spent years honing the sport. Trying everything from surfboards to mattresses before finally inventing a sit-down, wooden toboggan. Complete with formica bottom for speed and triangle bar for steering, the sport was born! Jumping into the bed of Bigfoots customized orange, off-road truck, it didnt take long for the inward facing wooden plank seats to fill up! Full, ha! This is Nicaragua. Sliding small wooden stools from under the planks, another dozen or so eager boarders were crammed into the middle. Okay, now its time to go. The hours ride northeast was impossibly bumpy and for most, quite painful. The stools slipped to and fro, spilling most people to the metal floor, while passengers seated on the planks, had to dodge low lying tree branches which threatened decapitation from the vehicles speed. Just arriving to the volcano in one dusty piece was a challenge unto itself.

Stopping short of the fat black volcano base, the domino effect sent us tumbling out of

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the truck. Rubbing bums and nursing slash wounds, we licked our wounds while Anthony, our Nicaraguan New York guide, handed out the necessary gear. Wooden board, orange jump suit and gogglesCheck! The climb to the top proved yet another formidable trip challenge. Loose rocks and volcanic sand formed the steep path up while the sun overhead blistered our every move. Wrapping around the wide volcano front we finally reached the backside. From here the path doubled back along an expansive ridgeline. Technically, this ridgeline was not difficult at all. Wide and manageably steep. The true challenge was the gale force wind!

Whipping at speeds close to 60 mph (or so it felt anyways), our heavy volcano boards morphed into sails. The key was to keep your boards wind susceptible surface space to a minimum. In other words, hold the board perpendicular to your body, at a 90-degree angle so the board slices through the wind with an inch width opposed to 2-feet. Easier said then done. The moment your board tottered past 90-degrees, the wind pushed it further into a saillike position, threatening to sweep you right off the steep ridge line.

Finally, we made it to the top and I can honestly say that first look down the slope was terrifying! I thought the slope grade would be mediocre at best, a hyped up activity to snag tourists dollars. Boy was I wrong. It was steepreally steep! The final 1/3 of the volcano face dropping at a 41-degree angle, masking boarders final descents and landings from those anxiously waiting on top. Practically screaming over the winds high altitude howl, Anthony barked

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Practically screaming over the winds high altitude howl, Anthony barked commands. For speed, lean back as far as possible and place feet on the board. To break, pulse feet occasionally into the ash. And for steering, pulse left foot in the ash to avoid tipping right, or right foot in the ash to avoid tipping left. Easy right? Climbing into our baggy orange suits, we looked like a group of escaped cons who lost a lot of weight whilst on the run. The suits were meant for skin protection against the rough terrain but a fall from those speeds was no match. The loose fabric would helplessly ride up arms and legs, exposing them to the skin marring parade. We also had goggles which proved much more effective. Preventing piles of ash, pumice and rock from gouging eye balls. The only piece of gear missing was a handkerchief. Its hard not to scream on a ride like this and let me just say, ash porridge for breakfast is not very tasty.

Lining up along the steep, loose embankment, the first two girls stepped to the plate. One played it safe, dragging her feet for the duration, while the other took off like a bat out of hell! Anthony applauded the girl by telling us how great she was doing until CRASH! Just as our maiden maverick reached the final drop, she lost control. All we saw was the board flying through the sky and her air born cartwheel over the drop. Anthony then retracted his kudos and said, Uh, dont do that. Reassuring. I was next out of the gate and timid to say the least, but unlike the girl before, I had a strategy. I would use the first 1/3 of the volcano to learn steering and speed control before letting loose towards the bottom. My heart was beating out of my chest and my nerves on high Anthony booted me from the ledge. Skidding my feet alongside the board, tiny rocks flew around the inside of my baggy pant legs, performing a high-caliber skin abrasion, while clouds of ash did their best to enter my tightly sealed mouth.

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Confident as I would ever be, when I hit the final lip I let myself go. Leaning back on the board and situating my legs, I hoped for the best. My speed doubled then tripled until.BUMP! Flying high Im still surprised I managed to stay on board. Landing with a great thud the toboggan almost lost it to the left but my right foot reflex reeled it back on course. Loosing a good amount of speed due to this folly, my final speed clocked at a respectable 35 km/h. Still shaking with excitement, the fear I had previously known was gone. I wanted to go againand again. Like riding a bike, once you learn the basics, you can only get better. But one time was all I would get this time around. Girls following clocked much lower speeds then myself, making me feel better about my performance, but then came the boys! Clay clocking in a whopping 62 km/h! Show off. Oh well, with complimentary cold beer and homemade granola cookie in hand, not tom mention a mean Hitler-style ash-stash, we celebrated our adventure on the bumpy journey home!

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