Breaking: First Clips from the New Wavepool in Switzerland - Stab Mag

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

26 Views
Precision manufactured waves, like Swiss clockwork.

Breaking: First Clips from the New Wavepool in Switzerland

In the heart of the Alps, this is the home of the “distinguished” pool surfer.

cinema // Mar 19, 2021
Words by Stab
Reading Time: 2 minutes

We have entered the era of idyllic wave pools. 

When the so-called arms race began, it did so on peculiar ground. Think: the middle of the desert, or the heart of Texas. But now that concepts have been proven, and demand verified, pools are beginning to fill in places that are a bit more, say, desirable. 

Like the heart of the Alps. 

Here’s the first clip we’ve seen from the new wave pool in Sion, Switzerland, called Alaia Bay. 

This is what we know so far: 

  • Alaia Bay uses a Wavegarden Cove with the same size wave engine as Melbourne and Bristol, but their pool is smaller. 
  • The pool has approximately 50 different settings. 
  • This clip was filmed a few weeks ago, and the water was 6 degrees celsius/42 degrees fahrenheit. It’ll be much, much warmer in the Swiss summer. 
  • Alaia Bay will open to the public on May 1. 
  • It will cost you 81¢ – $1.11 to ride a wave there. 
  • Zeke is holding onto some of his clips for Snapt 4, so this little number doesn’t show all there is to be seen.
  • Also per Zeke: The trip was one of the best of his life. He helped the Alaia Bay crew design a ramp and it was, indeed, proper (see above note about him icing clips). The tube setting is absurdly fun. It feels more like a real wave than most other wave pools. He got a wave in boardshorts. He may have stomped a flip. 

And so there we have it. A perfect, albeit artificial, wave in one of the world’s most beautiful locales. Maybe, just maybe, the idyllic wave pool will mark the dawn of the distinguished surfer. 

Instead of getting hammered drunk and eating ribs in Texas, the distinguished surfer visits 15th century castles. She deeply appreciates architecture and sleeps only in chalets. She enjoys train rides to the Matterhorn, but shares none of it on Instagram, because she is above social media. She values precision and horology. On weekends, she eats fondue and raises toasts to Ezekiel Lau with the local wormwood digestif, Génépi, which feels much like a wool blanket swaddling the soul. 

Maybe, but just maybe. 

We will have to see.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Watch: Rip Curl Mobilises Its Teenage Army In ‘Dunno’

A 30-minute surf film by Vaughan Blakey and Nick Pollet.

Jul 14, 2025

There’s A New Number One Surfer In The World

And it feels so right.

Jul 13, 2025

Controversial Opinion: No One Needs To Yoga In Boardshorts

8 Trunks for the traditionalist.

Jul 13, 2025

Stab Edit Of The Year: Sam Piter Stars in ‘Rogue DNA’.

French blood, thick water.

Jul 13, 2025

Matty McG Skydives Into CT Heat, But Jordy’s Still The Main Event

A full day of heats at J-Bay, and only one shark warning.

Jul 12, 2025

Correction: J-Bay All Foreplay, No Climax

Slim pickings on Day 1 of the Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025.

Jul 11, 2025

What Do Hollywood, Surf Lessons, Michael Jackson And Traction Pads Have In Common?

A Stab Interview with Teva Dexter, the man behind surfing's hardest new hardware brand —…

Jul 10, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 10, 2025

How Josh Ku Nearly Died Trying To Cross From Ulus to G Land by Hydrofoil

“If someone finds me dead at least they can find my phone and know what…

Jul 10, 2025

Expect No Kiss, All Climax At The “World’s Most Perfect Pointbreak”

A Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025 preview.

Jul 9, 2025

SEOTY: Liam O’Brien stars in ‘Friction of Perception’

"Hopefully I don’t come across like too much of a peanut."

Jul 8, 2025

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025

When Surfer’s Eye Is Actually Cancer

Erin Campbell's brutal journey from surf camp dreams to chemo drops, cryotherapy, and surgical horror.

Jul 3, 2025
Advertisement