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Saltwater swirled around my feet erasing the tracks as it turned the fresh snow to slush.
“Yep, them are neoprene bootie tracks all right, a sure sign of surfers in the area. It can be hard to get a visual on them when it’s snowing like this though– with all the snow in the air you gotta get within about a hundred yards of ’em.â€
Standing out on the snow covered beach yesterday looking for the surfers I was there to photograph I had time to think about how strange it was. There I am in a near white out, the normally dark grey beach is white with fresh snow, looking out towards the rumbling surf I can barely make out the surfers in their black wetsuits. The sky was dark with heavy snow clouds, the waves were still messy from a nearby storm. Every once in a while I’d look back up the beach towards the cars and another black shape with a big white object would emerge from the greyness heading my way, every patch of skin covered up except a little red face. The surf wasn’t really very good, but after a slow fall season there were a handful of eager Alaskan surfers out there trying to see the sets coming through the blowing snow.
It is incredibly inspiring and enjoyable to photograph unique subjects like this. Standing out there stomping my feet to keep the blood flowing I couldn’t stop smiling thinking about it, surfers and a snowstorm, what a contrast. Though winter is our surf season, it’s not that often that we get the pleasure of surfing during a heavy snow. I was glad to be able to get out and photograph in the few short hours we had before the sun dipped back below the mountains.
UPDATE 11/27/08: I’ve launched a little hobby blog for sharing more session reports, location info, photos and stories about surfing in Alaska. Check it out here – www.SurfAlaska.net
Comments
9 responses to “Snowy surf session”
i love the photos! ha ha i can’t stop smiling…and i don’t even know the surfers. stoked!
I always knew surfers were nuts and this just confirms it! :-} Nice images and keep ’em coming. And thanks for braving the elements to bring images like this to us less insane lower 48 people.
Brrrrrrr! The lengths we go to, to get our thrills.
@ Julie, Larry – Thanks, we make do with what we have up here! I was out surfing myself yesterday and was amazed to find I didn’t even get cold in an hour long session in 15F air temps with about a 10mph offshore wind. I was wearing a new to me hand-me-down wetsuit that has made the world of difference.– 6/4mm stretchy neoprene is amazing technology.
Another beautiful day today, but the swell is flat again.
Great Pictures. Nice looking dog. Yes, very inspiring.
Ahh, yes. A very good looking dog indeed, but not just good looking, also the best husky I’ve known.
Thanks Christian.
thanks for the great pics. Been surfing in Alaska since ’88 and it great to see others enjoy the cold water around our beautiful state.
Hi Scott,
We’re from Australia and always thought it was the polar bears we had to see in Alaska.
Think again, eh?
Those must be the best quality wetties you can buy, eh?
Crikey! You should put out a DVD. We’d buy it.
We watch out for Great Whites, bull sharks etc here, what predators gives you guys the shivers (aside from the cold) – killer whales, polar bears?
waaaay cool blog.
@ Darryl – You are so welcome, when am I going to meet you on some lonely beach?
@ Annette – I wish I had the best quality wetsuit! The rubber upgrades come after the camera gear, which has left some nice cameras in the hands of a shivering surf photographer.
The things that concern us most are probably the chunks of ice in the waves. Really, despite the cold, surfing here is pretty friendly. Just remember to quite when you can’t think straight (harder than you’d think).