The London Free Press

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Sandboarding turns desert into tourist destination

by Paul Caplan – The Avid Traveller  

What is sandboarding? Is it comparable to snowboarding? Where can I travel to do it?

When asked these questions about sandboarding, Paul Caplan, long time columnist and writer on all things related to the outdoors, offered the following responses.

Sandboarding is an ancient form of recreation first enjoyed by the Egyptians and Chinese.

The idea is to strap on a board which has a base coated in wax and ride it down a sand dune at speeds upwards of 95 kilometres an hour. That's a simple way to describe it. Doing it is trickier.

Sandboarding is not easy, so gather lots of information before you decide to travel somewhere to do it. Stunts at which one excels on snow are much harder on sand.

Sandboarding is popular and growing in South America and Australia . It is also big at Northern Colorado 's Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, which claims the tallest sand dunes in North America .

You could consider a destination such as Baja , Mexico , which offers hundreds of kilometers of dunes. This area is among the driest of the North American regions and offers optimum sandboarding conditions.

South Australia 's Kangaroo Island is also reputed to be prime territory.

In the summer, the sand can be dangerously hot. Spring and fall are better for hot sand concerns, but the winds can blow sand in a boarder's eyes and mouth – the big negative of sandboarding.

Sandboarding early in the morning, particularly after a cool evening, is considered optimum sandboarding time. Firmer, cooler sand is not a friendly shock absorber.

Sandboards range in length, depending on the style of boarding. The boards can take quite a beating. Sand rips apart a board's bottom and edges, so proper board selection from a qualified and reputable vendor is a must.

Sandboarders have to be careful where they practice their sport. Areas with dune grass are often off limits for environmental reasons. Also, the wax leaves behind a residue that can enter ground water.

REPORT FROM SANDBOARD ENTHUSIAST

Last week I went to a sandboarding place in Shimoda called Touji ( ?? ) Sand Skiing Slope. There was someone there going down on a sled but nobody sand skiing. From the bottom of the slope it didn't seem like much, but being a beginner, when I got to the top a little fear set in as I realized how big the slope actually was. With that said I was very happy to have the elevated view of the sea and how the sand dune turns into a beach. It was very easy to get used to and after a while, because it was so hot, I was able to slide all the way into the water. So at the end of my runs I could have a splash and cool down. The water there is quiet with small peaceful waves. There were also lots crabs on the rocks near the shore. Climbing up the dune in bear feet was also great exercise. I recommend anybody to give Shimoda sand ski slope a try.

Yokota from Tokyo
Note: Please use the right hand side of the dune (looking from the bottom) as kids go down on sleds on the left.