Garrett McNamara, Kealii Mamala and Bo Bridges have taken tow-in surfing to another level with a ride on a glacier generated wave in Alaska.
World champion tow-in surfer Garrett McNamara has cooperated with Kealii Mamala of Hawaii to break into what could be the world's newest extreme sport, glacier or tsunami surfing. Using skills developed through extreme tow-in surfing in Hawaii, Garrett towed Mamala into the wave generated by a calving glacial iceberg. Tow-in surfers use a specially modified personal watercraft to place them at just the right spot on the face of a wave. Riding a glacier wave requires patience, weeks of waiting to be ready for the few seconds of intense wave action.
Surfing the Copper River - McNamara's support team recorded the first known experience of surfing a glacier wave at the face of the Child's Glacier some 50 miles above Cordova, Alaska on the Copper River and located nearly 2,800 miles from their home in Hawaii. The Copper River is better known to most people for its world-class Sockeye salmon. Glaciers are moving rivers of ice. Where they meet a river or ocean, they will calve or break off enormous chucks of bright blue ice. These icebergs weighting thousands of tons fall for hundreds of feet and strike the water surface below. The resulting displacement of water generates a wave of epic proportion, reaching more than 25 feet in height. To a tow-in surfer ready to act, it provides 60 seconds of unbelievable excitement.
Riding the Wave - Garrett McNamara was asked about the differences he experienced towing a surfer into the glacier generated wave versus his previous surfing experiences in Hawaii. Garrett says, "As far as the riding the glacier waves, they were somewhat normal. Being towed into it was like nothing I had ever imagined. I learned a lot. It was so foreign. I would compare it to as foreign as being on Mars for the first time. I was so aware of everything about the glacier; the river, the rock garden, the gravel bar, and the miscellaneous, slightly submerged rock mines. I learned how comfortable I am in the ocean. Waves of any size I learned are so normal to me, there is no hesitation and no analyzing. I just go, no matter the size. The glacier wave scared the #$%^ out of me and demanded my full attention. One mistake and it would be my last mistake."
Mamala and McNamara's wide ride can be viewed as a video clip on YouTube. Photographer Bo Bridges captured the spectacular event as the iceberg crashed into the water. Photos of the moment can be viewed at Bo's blog in the entry titled Alaska Glacier Surfing?.
