Koa Smith’s Fruitful Cave Mining Operation In The Atacama Desert

The first thing that popped into my head when watching this video was; why the hell does a tiny city in remote Chile need so many damn skyscrapers?

So I looked it up.

Turns out, because they’re hemmed in between the Pacific Ocean and the steep, arid Andean mountains, these cities have no room to move, so they grow up instead of out. Plus, Northern Chile is the copper capital of the world, so these highrises serve as luxury housing and office spaces for massive mining operations.

Anyway. 

It’s no secret that there are heavy, perfect waves nestled in along the Atacama desert.

Since Andy Irons won the 2007 Rip Curl Search in Arica, there have been 12 QS contests held at the urchin-infested slab known as El Gringo. 

Though we’re not gonna drop any pins for ya, Nathan and Ivan Florence have released a healthy share of footage from a handful of similar waves in recent months.

Above is Koa Smith’s own take on a Northern Chile cave-mining operation. 

“Slabs are the ultimate fear game,” says Koa. “You just gotta be 2000% committed underneath it or else…”

Click above to watch Koa pick-axe through a lineup of boils, boogs, and jellyfish to harvest some emerald jewels.