Surfing on the Slopes of a Volcano

Picture the scene. Perched on the crater’s edge of a super-active volcano, 728 metres (2,388 ft) above sea level. On all sides of the smoking black cinder cone and lava field, a verdant landscape stretches towards the horizon. Then, it’s off, skidding and sliding over loose volcanic rock and ash, the wind and dust in your face as you accelerate down the mountainside, steadying yourself for speeds of over 50 miles (80 kilometres) per hour.

Dreamed up four years ago by the guys at Bigfoot Hostel and Green Pathways Tours in Nicaragua, volcano surfing – sometimes called ash boarding or volcano boarding – seems to have slid off the volcano slope and taken off as the adventure travel community turns its gaze on the latest hot extreme sport.

Volcano surfing has evolved on the slopes of Nicaragua’s Cerro Negra, one of the world’s volatile volcanoes, and Central America’s youngest. Actually more closely resembling snowboarding and its derivative sandboarding than surfing per se, volcano surfing keeps the stress on speed, while adding the thrill of tough falls on rough volcanic surfaces. That and the threat of a possible eruption at any moment. Cerro Negra last exploded as recently as 1999.

As extreme sports go, volcano surfing, like the volcano it was born on, is still a wide-eyed but excitable baby. The ply, metal and formica boards are custom made in the organisers’ workshop, with both stand-up and sit-down models available – the latter offering both a speedier and safer ride. Still, this sport can hurt. The threat of the volcano is ever-present, but the main danger is falling off and getting cut, which explains the use of protective gear like jump suits and goggles.