Photo:Raphael Koerich

Snowboarding is one of the most popular winter sports out there; and with good reason! It’s fun, fast, relatively easy to pick up, and the gear is readily available for purchase or rental. But what about for those of us that are nowhere near snow? Well if you happen to be in a desert area or have some money for a plane ticket, I highly recommend sandboarding!

So what is sandboarding? Well as the title of the post says, it’s basically snowboarding without the snow. Daring thrillseekers the world round have taken a fresh look at the dunes in their backyards and decided to get down them as fast as humanly possible. So what equipment is needed?

Well that’s one of the best things about sandboarding! If you already are outfitted for snowboarding, you’re pretty much set. Well, with a few exceptions. You CAN use a regular snowboard, but it isn’t recommended for those that really want some decent speed. Sand provides much more friction that snow, so your board won’t be going nearly as fast as you’d like. There are specialized sandboards you can buy that are built lighter and with a harder, laminated surface that gets slicker the more you surf. Lightness is a huge factor as there usually aren’t any lifts on sand dunes, which means you’ll be carrying your board up the dunes after every run.

For safety gear, your bindings and boots from snowboarding work just fine, as will your goggles and helmet. Goggles are very important as sand in your eyes can be very painful and lead to bigger accidents on your way down. Bring tons of sunscreen!!

So where can you go sandboarding? Well depends on how much money you have in the bank! As you might expect, some of the best sandboarding locations on the planet are in the Middle East or Africa. Of particular fame are “Big Red” in Dubai, one of the steepest and tallest dunes in the Middle East, as well as the Namib Desert in Namibia.

But what about us stuck in the Western Hemisphere?? Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve has tons of awesome dunes. White Sands, New Mexico, Monahans Sandhills State Park in Texas, and Baja California, Mexico and Jockey’s Ridge State Park, North Carolina are also all noteworthy!

Check out this video of sandboarders in action in Namibia!

So don’t let the lack of snow get to you. Get surfing!!