My Kind of Snow

With the Olympics over, all those aspiring gold medal snowboarders have to wait four more years for their moment in the spotlight. Unless… does anyone have a contact number for the IOC? We’re missing a huge opportunity here during the summer games: same boards, same hills, just without any of that pesky snow. What am I talking about? Sandboarding.

Last spring I visited the incredible town of San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. Among the endless list of other amazing outdoor pursuits that are based in this town, a sandboarding company caught my eye, and soon I was trudging up an enormous, shifting sand dune carrying a battered up snowboard… or sandboard, if you will.

The view from the top? Incredible. The driest place on earth offers some of the most interesting land formations you’ve ever seen. The view straight down, however? Steep. Very steep. As I psyched myself up to tip over the precipice, it occurred to me just how pointy those rocks below were. But there’s only one way down; over I went. And by the time I reached the bottom, I was turning right back around to climb up again. This is the most fun anyone can have on sand, hands down. Time for it to be recognized as an official sport.

Ok, so there are some logistics we need to work through regarding the sand halfpipe, but let’s not be negative, every initial concept has its challenges. Get yourself down to Chile and start training, and you could be the next gold medalist in Brazil come 2016. Or not. But either way, you will have experienced one of the coolest landscapes on earth. From a sandboard, no less.

Amy prefers sand over snow in nearly any scenario—she is headed down to Arizona at the end of the week for this very reason. If your feet are itching for sand too, get in touch with us to start planning your escape.