No longer confined to Hawaii, Southern California and Australia, the sport’s landlocked version is a testament to the art of making do.
Ever since the early 20th century, modern surf culture has been nearly inseparable from that of its capitals — Hawaii, Southern California and Australia — which provide the seemingly necessary ingredients of sun, sea and a certain easygoing spirit. “The trees also grow down to the salty edge of things, and one sits in their shade and looks seaward,” Jack London wrote of Waikiki Beach in a chapter about surfing in his 1911 travelogue, “The Cruise of the Snark.” But as the sport has grown in popularity — in 2020, it will make its debut in the Summer Olympics — its recipe has changed as well. With the right wet suit, you no longer need the sun, and so adventure athletes looking to escape oversaturated beach towns have over the past decades made surf spots out of less hospitable coasts: Iceland, Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and even the Arctic. Perhaps more surprising is that, as a burgeoning cadre of enthusiasts who happen to live in landlocked areas are proving, you don’t even need sea....
SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES STYLE MAGAZINE
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