Sandboarding the Dragon in Atacama Desert, Chile

When the sun begins to set over the south Pacific Ocean, sandboarders make their pilgrimage to the summit of Cerro Dragon (Dragon Hill), the sand dunes that guard the port city of Iquique (“e-KEY-keh”) from the parched Atacama Desert.

Cristobal Edwards and his pals trudge steadily through the sand all the way to the top.

First practiced in Chile in 1987, sandboarding gained widespread attention around 2000 as “that ski sport in the sand.”

They scout the dune in silence to spot the best slides – the ocean wind changes the shape of the dune continually.

Diehard Chilean 20-something sandboarders have helped make sleepy Iquique a hip and happening place.

One day it’s Edwards’ turn on a board.

He stood on a board, his feet unfastened, and learns how to keep balanced by flexing his knees and leaning forward a little.

“I went back to the top of the dune, strapped my feet to the board, and slid down,” he said. “I was going nonstop to the bottom, but not fast enough, because I fell flat on my chest.”

Like snowboarding, its sandy cousin is about balance and speed.

Edwards’ friends Diego and Custom did a few laps before they checked the gigantic electronic clock on an adjacent hill; it was time to go back to Iquique.

As they walked down Cerro Dragon to their van Edwards asked Diego if they also sandboarded in the morning when the sand was cool.

“Hardly, we party too much,” he said.

Sandboarding is becoming quite popular where there are sand dunes like Southern California, the Sahara, southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, northern Chile, and Peru.

In 1999 while sandboarders surfed they took time out in Australia to build a sandboard park. They built it using sandbags as a base and then filling the bulk of the gaps with shovels full of moist sand and then putting over the top of that hot, dry sand for a smooth ride.

The first thing they built was a large bank which they would ride up as they approached a 90 degree bend and ride around, as opposed to carving so they didn’t lose speed.

The next piece to the park was modifying an existing half pipe. Then they made a starting bay which increased speed dramatically in the pipe and meant you could do a lot more moves.

The starting bay also doubles as a starting point for a not very steep, but reasonably long run that was great for long smooth carves and rolling 180s and 360s.

It was named the Liberty Sandboard Park.