Volcano Boarding

So you may have heard the story of how I climbed to the top of a mountain in Northern Nicaragua, knocked on the door of the teeny tiny teetery church I found there.... Then I read the story The Three Billy Goats Gruff to the albino who answered... and then I also fell down the mountain; running away, because the Albino wanted to marry me... Its tough being a Chelita in Nicaragua

Welcome to part two of the saga, how I climbed a different mountain, and also fell down it. But on purpose. Twice.

Everyone has a list of must-do’s-before-I-die, and this one has been on my list for a while. I mean, first you get yourself a big ol’ volcano, throw in some pimped-out toboggans, a few sexy coveralls, one refurbished German war truck, a radar gun and you’re golden!

 

Cerro Negro is the only place in the world to go volcano boarding. She is also the newest addition to the Maribios chain of volcanos - some 160 years ago, there was nothing more than an innocuous little green bump tucked away in Northwest Nicaragua. Eruptions that started then and remain active until now (most recent, 1999) have created a 700 meter tall cinder cone. Jagged red-black rocks and a crumbling, cakey layer of ash and sulphur have turned that pretty little hill into an awkwardly placed black pimple in a sea of green. It’s like walking on a different planet, a breathing thing, a sleeping giant. The heat swells up at you from the sand below instead of beating down on you from the sun above, even the wind feels alive, tearing and pulling at you as you walk the rim. In some spots your feet break through the hot ashy crust, and you start to wonder if your shoes are going to melt and leave you to walk (or fly) down all of those 700 meters barefoot.

It’s a beautiful and unique place, and I think it definitely deserves its spot on CNN’s list of the top 100 things to do before you die!

 Or you can hike around inside the crater if you like:

But nothing beats carrying a formica loaded sled, all the way up and around the rim of the crater (the strip of formica is completely gone when you are done, sacrificed to the greater good of extreme sports)

 

Interesting fact, you cannot see the bottom of the mountain from the top. At 41 degrees, you disappear from view over the edge and eventually shoot out as a dusty white smear on the flats down below