Once you arrive at the top of Cerro Negro there is only one way down.
Tourists prepare to leave Bigfoot Hostel in the truck that will take them Volcano Boarding.
A cloud of dust from a Volcano Boarding tourism truck engulfs a local bus.
Tourists unload from a truck to register at the entrance of Cerro Negro National Park.
A man waits to water his horse at Cerro Negro National Park.
Tourists climb out of a truck and prepare to hike to the top of Cerro Negro.
The guides from Bigfoot Hostel will tell you about the history of Volcano Boarding as you make your way up the volcano's steep trail. The sport was pioneered by an Australian.
Tourists make their way along the ridge of Cerro Negro, an active volcano just outside of Leon, Nicaragua. To the right is the center of the volcano and to the left is a sheer slope.
Tourists fight the wind and they put on their protective jump suits at the top of Cerro Negro.
If you take a volcano boarding tour down Cerro Negro pay close attention to your guide's safety instructions. While relatively safe volcano boarding has risks.
A tourist rushes down the side of Cerro Negro, feet barely skimming the rocks to maintain stability.
Bigfoot Hostel volcano boarding tours use a speed gun so you know exactly how fast you're going.
Tourists climb out of their jumpsuits and sip cold beer after competing a run down Cerro Negro Volcano.
The sun beats down on us and terrible humidity makes it worse as we crunch our way up a winding trail to the top of a volcano outside León, Nicaragua. We’re here because we’ve come to ride sheets of plywood down this hulking mound of cooled lava.
Along side us are tourists from across the world and everyone is cursing the heaviness of the board and complaining about the jumpsuits we’ll have to wear when we slide down so that the volcanic rock doesn’t scrape our skin off like a cheese grater.
As we climb higher, the cursing stops as those who are out of shape suck wind and those who are fit embrace the challenge. The smell of sulfur washes over us and the wind picks up, tugging our boards back and forth like huge kites. But we hold on because the thought of dropping the board after climbing so far terrifies us.
At the top, our initial nervousness is replaced by fatigue as the guide tells us how this volcano, which is called Cerro Negro, is the only volcano in the world where volcano boarding is possible. We’re not sure if he’s right, but we’re too tired to question him.
Then he gives us the rules: 1. Do not open your mouth on the way down because rocks can break teeth. 2. Wear your goggles because rocks can blind you. 3. Once the slope goes from 30° to 45°, you are not allowed to brake because you will lose control and it will hurt. He says people have broken things but no one has died.
We settle ourselves onto the half-inch thick boards and grip the thin nylon rope that’s attached like reins. Sitting on the board puts us so low to the ground that we can’t see past the black lip of the volcano.
And then it’s on.
We dig in with our feet trying to steer as rocks rush under. The board heats with friction and we realize our mouths are still open. As we hit the ‘steep’ part, we pull our feet up high enough to just lightly skim the surface of the crumble and we fight every instinct to over correct. Another guide points a radar gun at us as we whoosh past and eventually slide to a stop. Fifteen seconds and it’s over.
Photos: Alex Washburn / Element.ly