Volcano Boarding

Posted by Miss Cellania in Sports, Travel & Places on May 8, 2009 at 11:11 pm


Sliding down a mountain on a snowboard is a completely different experience when the mountain is an active volcano! The new sport is drawing snowboarders and surfers to the foothills of Nicaragua’s Cerro Negro mountain.

Surfers, dressed in protective jump suits, knee-pads and helmets, can reach speeds of up to 80 km/h (50mph) on their specially-constructed plywood boards.

Phillip Southan, owner and manager of Bigfoot Hostel and Green Pathways Tours, said the unique trip is a world first.

‘We started offering this trip on 2005 and its has become so popular,’ the 26-year-old from Barbados said. ‘This is a unique tour as nowhere else in the world can you board down an active volcano.

‘This is the fourth year and to date we have taken over 10,000 people on this tour,’ said Mr Southan. ‘It is a 45 minute hike of easy to moderate difficulty.

Cerro Negro last erupted in 1999, and the crater is still smoking. Link -via Unique Daily


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COMMENT

12 comments to "Volcano Boarding"

  1. P. Lopez
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:24 pm

    Oh, I've sort of done this, but without a board - sort of barefoot skiing... in Peru... pretty awesome...

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/patricio00/2363458754/in/photostream/

  2. MightyCow
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:43 pm

    Try it on an erupting volcano and I'll be impressed.

  3. nibiyabi
    May 9th, 2009 at 2:24 am

    So . . . am I the only one who thought of waterboarding only with lava instead of water?

  4. Ralph
    May 9th, 2009 at 4:36 am

    5 years ago I skied on an active volcano in Chile: See the youtube video here (sadly without the sound anymore): http://krz.ch/a99694

  5. Bro
    May 9th, 2009 at 9:15 am

    No lung protection?

  6. Gadget Sleuth
    May 9th, 2009 at 10:48 am

    Some people are too bored for their own good (or safety).

  7. ted
    May 9th, 2009 at 10:48 am

    Yes, I think you are the only one who thought that, nibiyabi.

  8. Kalel
    May 9th, 2009 at 11:07 am

    The sport seems to be catching fire.

  9. ted
    May 9th, 2009 at 11:48 am

    I wouldn't do this, because I'd be afraid to fall on my ash.

  10. Vonskippy
    May 9th, 2009 at 7:31 pm

    Popular with all the would be sith's in training.

  11. Christophe
    May 10th, 2009 at 10:57 am

    25 years ago there was French TV program called "les carnets de l'aventure", showing the beginning of all those extreme sports, 80's style.
    One of the show was a guy skiing down the slopes of an active volcano... erupting! (for MightyCow). The guy had to stop and face the volcano protecting himself with his backpack, avoiding volvanic bombs fall-outs.

    Unfortunately I haven't been able to find this program on the interweb yet. That would be a great post ;)

  12. amidala
    May 10th, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    As long as the guys who decide to try this get billed for any rescue services they require, I'm all for it.


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