Surfing brings to mind images of sandy beaches, palm trees, and fresh coconuts. The idea of living life as a professional surfer evokes feelings of pure joy and envy.
The last thing that comes to mind when thinking about surfing is the freezing temperatures and harsh environments found in the Arctic.
Chris Burkard is the foremost pioneer of surf photography in the Arctic.
Since the year 2008, Chris has been traveling the globe and filming surfing in places that 50 years ago would never be imaginable. This particular video takes place in the frigid water off a Norwegian archipelago.
Watching this video will make your fingers and toes feel cold as these maniacs catch awesome Arctic waves.
Arctic Swell: Surfing the Ends of the Earth
Arctic swell, published in 2014, is still just as inspiring today as it was 4 years ago. This film produced by SmugMug and shot by Chris Burkard takes place in the Norwegian archipelago of Lofoten which lies just inside the Arctic circle.
The crew includes professional surfers Brett Barley, Pat Millen, and Chadd Konig. They slogged through 3 flights, a ferry ride, a long ass drive to get to their desired surfing destination.
On their first day of surfing, they got 5 feet of fresh ‘pow and spent an hour shoveling snow before they could get the car out. That’s commitment to the cause and slightly nuts to dig 5 feet of snow out of the driveway before you leave to surf.
That was only the beginning…
When they finally arrived they slogged through two feet of snow with 5-7m of rubber on and surfboards under their arm. If you don’t see it with your own two eyes it is hard to believe.
The beauty of the landscape is epic, breathtaking, and harsh all rolled into one gnarly package. If you watch closely the waves break near the rocks on shore, adding another level of intensity (not that one was needed).
The locals believe the rocky shore is a dangerous place and for good reason. The freezing, icy, rad adventure that takes place in this video is nothing short of inspirational.
I tried taking a cold shower for a week once and couldn’t even manage that…
Keep calm and stay inspired.
