Surfs up in Interlaken!

Surfs up in Interlaken!

 

If the local council here in Interlaken had a few kayakers on their board, then this place would be surf city! Come on Simon, you’d make great Gemeinde material  ;-))

Interlaken,  contrary to popular belief, does not mean  ‘inbetween the sheets’ as one would imagine with all the shenanigans that go on here, but rather  ‘inbetween the Lakes’,  as it is a town that  sits on the flood plain between the Lakes of Brienz and Thun ! The name Thun might ring a bell for some of you as the location for the 2009 World Championship Freestyle Kayaking event.  Well, almost exactly the same set up occurs here in Interlaken. With at least 50 cumecs  squeezing through control gates down man made canals,  it’s not hard to let the imagination wander into the potential of artificial  surf waves.  At certain times of the year,  in spring and autumn usually, when the rivers are low and the lakes reach a particular level,  an epic wave  forms bang slap in the middle of town about a minutes walk from the post office and just upstream from the infamous Anker Bar. Well, with the summer solstice  having just ticked over you may be wandering  why I would be able to write about this amazing phenomenon now ,  but with the weather  we’ve  been having here in the Alps this year, it’s not far off feeling like winter is already approaching!

 In any case,  local swiss guns Simon, Marc and Phil  were heading through town to paddle a secret creek on the weekend when they spotted the ‘Anker Wave’ absolutely going off.  A quick detour to switch their quiver of creek boats for play boats found them back in action and big smiles all around. The following day conditions were still good and Outdoor Interlaken guide extraordinaire  Timmy Flowers joined in the big air carnival  where the boyz were throwing down some pretty stout moves.

The wave is super fast, being squeezed out from under a set of wooden gates down a concrete ramp, and just where the concrete ends into deep water a massive wave kicks up with a testing entry diagonal and a very fast and bumpy ride on an ever changing face. There was just enough foam pile on top of the wave to keep you in the pocket and no shortage of speed and bounce to get some good air.

 It was bloody cold though I must say, and with a consistent slight drizzle it wasn’t exactly the best conditions to take action photos,  but I reckon they came out alright. The sun came out briefly just at the right time to warm up and refuel with sandwiches and tea,  big thanks to Annie,  and the session continued.

Looks we might have to wait till September before we can surf this beauty again because as I write this it’s blue skies above and the big orange faced guy in the sky is smiling his radiant waves upon us. Yay, summer is finally here!!