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Sand blast!

Sandboarding in the Great Dunes National Park

Brian Metzler, Special to the Rocky

Published November 27, 2007 at 12:45 a.m.

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Frustrated by a lack of snow in Colorado's high country? Yeah, me, too.

More snow will eventually fall, and we'll probably have a winter of epic proportions. In the meantime, I took matters into my own hands and zipped to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, northeast of Alamosa, for the next-best thing: sandboarding.

What's sandboarding? Simple: snowboarding on sand. Given that the Great Sand Dunes is a 30- square-mile sand park with massive rolling dunes dating back thousands of years, it pretty much makes it the oldest snowboard resort in Colorado - sans chairlifts, base lodge and snow.

It's a long way from the metro area, but there's virtually no one there this time of year, and the cost is $3 per person for an entire week. (Imagine if lift tickets were that cheap!) And with the proper gear, a decent level of fitness and an adventurous attitude, the dunes are a good way to get your downhill fix before real snow covers your favorite slopes.

Although sand has a much different consistency from snow, and it can be a bit more challenging to carve turns on sand, it's always a powder day at the dunes.

I concocted a plan to surf the dunes months ago during a summertime visit. But a park ranger told me the hot sand isn't conducive to riding a snowboard. And quite frankly, the thought of climbing up the dunes on scorching-hot sand wasn't too appealing, so I put off my next trip until the fall.

Two days before making the drive this month, I sent an e-mail to a dozen or so friends looking for a partner in crime, er, adventure. (Sandboarding is actually 100 percent legal at the dunes.) The only one who was game for such a crazy idea was John O'Connor, a Denver grad student who said he could make time between planning his latest Match.com dates.

"You can sandboard anywhere you want, but please watch out for the plant life," the ranger at the entry gate told us. "And be careful. It can hurt when you fall."

Believe it or not, sandboarding has evolved as a real sport in the past several years, with competitions, private sandboard parks and sand-specific boards with slick Formica bases.

But no shop in Colorado sells sandboards (I'm thinking about opening one in Alamosa), and I didn't want to drop $175 on a board from Dr. Dune at Sandboard.com. So we borrowed beat-up rentals from Christy Sports and hoped for the best.

Under blue skies dotted with cotton- ball clouds and amid temperatures in the mid-50s, we began our ascent toward the 700-foot, aptly named High Dune from the 8,200-foot parking lot.

"The only bad thing about this is that once you get down, you've got to climb all the way back up," John said, reminding us both that we'd certainly be earning our turns. "But at least there aren't any trees or other people you can run into."

We found what we thought would be a good, tame slope to begin on but discovered that it wasn't nearly steep enough to gather the speed necessary to make it down the hill. Unlike melting snow that helps a board or skis to slide, the friction from sand is rather debilitating.

Riding slowly, we realized, made it nearly impossible to turn. Not only that, but it usually resulted in our crumpling to the ground in a slow-speed crash.

Finally, as the sun was starting to descend in the western sky, we found a 45-degree slope on the backside of a big dune, and everything fell into place. For a brief few moments, we were able to surf pristine sand as if we were making first tracks down the Back Bowls at Vail.

We returned the next morning for more, and this time we went straight for the steep stuff. Looking out from the top of the High Dune, 360-degree views gave us glimpses of Fourteeners, the high plains and seemingly endless opportunities for downhill thrills.

I lost count at some point, but I easily carved more than a dozen runs that were a couple of hundred feet long - which means I also trudged back up an equal number of times. By midday, we were completely worn out, hungry for lunch and covered in sand. But, as with a day of making turns in the backcountry, it was all worth the effort.

I doubt I'll get back to the dunes any time soon, but with a gazillion tons of sand and westerly winds constantly reshaping the slopes, it'll be a brand-new adventure when I do.

For more information about Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, visit nps.gov/grsa.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE

Alamosa has an impressive array of family-owned restaurants. For authentic Mexican food, try the enchiladas and margaritas at Oscar's (520 Main St., 1-719-589-9230) or the chile rellenos at Calvillo's (400 Main St., 1-719-587-5500). If you're looking for a cold beer, the San Luis Valley Brewing Co. (631 Main St., 1-719-587-2337) is the place to go. Opened in 2006 in a historical bank building by Midwestern transplants Angie and Scott Graber, it features an array of tasty microbrews and hearty pub fare. Back in Thyme eatery (420 Main St., 1-719-587-3388), located in the back of the Vintage Garage antique marketplace, is also worth a look for lunch.

LOCAL ATTRACTION

Alamosa, once an important stopover point on the Denver & Rio Grande Western railroad, is awash in railroad history. Although active freight trains still carry potatoes and barley from the lush San Luis Valley, most of the railroad action comes from the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad (riograndescenicrailroad.com), which runs summer tourist excursions from Alamosa to La Veta and Antonito via a restored steam locomotive. Through Dec. 16, the railroad is running holiday-themed North Pole Express trains between Alamosa and Monte Vista and between La Veta and Walsenberg. The two-hour round-trip rides ($20 for adults, $10 for children) include holiday cookies, hot chocolate and a visit from Santa.

LOCAL ATHLETES

For having such a small population, the San Luis Valley has been home to an inordinate number of national and world- class runners in the past 25 years. The Adams State College track and cross-country programs (formerly led by Dr. Joe Vigil and now Damon Martin) have produced dozens of All-American runners. Eight-time U.S. cross-country champion Pat Porter, an Adams State graduate, and Deena Kastor, the U.S. women's marathon record-holder, are among those who have pursued Olympic team berths while living in the Alamosa area. Others who live in the valley include Laura Haefeli (Del Norte), who finished third at the 2007 world championships of mountain running; former mountain-running great Chuck Smead (Mosca); and four-time U.S. Mountain Running Team member Simon Gutierrez (Alamosa).

LODGING

The 125-room Inn of the Rio Grande ($79 to $129, 1-800-669-1658, innoftherio.com) is the largest hotel in the San Luis Valley, and if you have kids, it's the place to go. It has an indoor pool and hot tub and a separate indoor water park with a 21-foot-high water slide. The rustic Great Sand Dunes Lodge (1-719-378-2900, gsdlodge.com) offers the closest lodging to the sand, but it's open only from mid-March to mid-October. The Zapata Ranch (1-719-378-2356, zranch.org), a 103,000-acre ranch retreat owned by the Nature Conservancy in Mosca, offers lodging in a refurbished 1800s homestead, a cabin-style bunkhouse and a rustic inn. If you're looking for something more intimate, consider the River's Inn & Swiss Cottage (1-719-376-6029) in Antonito.

SANDBOARDING TIPS

* A snowboard will suffice if it's not too hot, but the warmer the sand gets, the softer the waxed base will get and the slower you'll move.

* Skis don't work quite as well as a snowboard, because there's less surface area to disperse your weight.

* Use an old snowboard. The sand can be rough on the base and edges of a board.

* Hiking in snowshoes offers more traction and is generally easier than hiking in boots.

* A helmet is recommended because of the high impact and uncontrolled nature of crashes common to sandboarding.

* Boards and bindings made specifically for sandboarding are available at Sandboard.com. Boards range from $99 to $199, while bindings run $20 to $120.

* Just as on snow, a properly waxed board will move fast and consistently on sand, but finding the riding mix depends on the type of sand and the consistency of sand.

* Carry a pack with food, water and an extra layer of clothing. You tend to get thirsty and hungry out on the dunes, and the temperature can change quickly.

* Use sunscreen early and often, even on a semi-cloudy day. You'll be exposed to the sun's rays all day because there are no trees or other places to hide from the sun.

OTHER ADVENTURES

1. Climb a Fourteener. One of the four peaks in the Crestone group of 14,000-foot mountains, Humboldt Peak (14,064 feet) is one of the easiest Fourteeners in the state to hike. Ten other Fourteeners in the stunning Sangre de Cristo range (sangres.com/mountains/sangres.htm) also beckon on the horizon.

2. Hike to a waterfall. A semi-rigorous half-mile hike is necessary to reach Zapata Falls, an impressive 40-foot waterfall. The trail head is located about three miles south of the entrance to Great Sand Dunes National Park.

3. Feed the gators. Alligators don't naturally inhabit Colorado, but more than 400 of them seem perfectly at home at the Colorado Gators reptile park (www.gatorfarm.com) 13 miles north of Alamosa. There's also a variety of snakes, turtles and tropical birds at this unique rescue.

4. Ski to a yurt. The Southwest Nordic Center (southwestnordiccenter.com) operates four yurts near Cumbres Pass (about 35 miles from Alamosa). The yurts, which can accommodate up to six people, are situated at about 10,000 feet amid spectacular backcountry ski trails and bowls.

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