Surfing Where The Sun Never Rises

“I don’t think I’ve ever been colder. That was the closest I’ve ever been to Frostbite.” 

Dyl Graves is at it again. The model for his wildly entertaining YouTube channel seems to be this: end up in places where surfing, by all reasonable standards, shouldn’t exist, track down the maniacs who are doing it anyway, share a few waves, and tell their story.

This time, he’s in the Barents Sea, Norway.

“We came to the tippy top of Europe, in the dead of winter, because apparently, somewhere out there, the waves can get good,” says Dylan. “The catch was, we only had three hours of light each day, because the sun never rose above the horizon.” 

Living in endless darkness is only the start. Fickle swells, capricious weather, trudging 2km through knee-deep snow, battling -15°C temperatures, surviving off cured reindeer heart. It’s all part of the package. And on top of it, you’re more likely to get skunked than find a decent wave.

The locals don’t seem to mind, though.

“When there’s only three hours of daylight a day, you feel like you have to be outside,” says one. “If I miss it, it can ruin my whole week. If you can surf in those three hours, that’s great. It’s like stretching out the day.”

How deep is your commitment to surfing, really? How many hours would you log if you couldn’t drive right up to the beach, grab your board from the car, and stroll into the water in the same shorts you’ve been wearing all day?

Some people really love to surf. You’ve gotta grab the reindeer by the antlers, folks.