Here’s A Dude Charging A Massive Wave At Mavericks While Wearing Skis Instead Of Riding A Surfboard

Mavericks surfing Half Moon Bay California

iStockphoto / PhotographyPerspectives


Big Wave Surfing is one of the most extreme sports on the planet. Being a big wave surfer requires a special type of ‘crazy’ in your brain that overrides the normal ‘fight or flight’ response and pushes you to always put your body and life on the line. Seriously, any one of these massive waves could take out a regular swimmer. The power behind them is incomprehensible to most people.

But, the sport’s elite train around the clock to ensure when a swell shows up they’re ready to charge. Chuck Patterson is a man of many talents. He’s a pro skier, snowboard, tow-in surfer, kite-boarder, stand-up paddleboarder, and basically, if it floats and can ride waves or snow he’s great at riding it. Someone capture footage of him charging a massive wave at Mavericks in Northern California during a swell last weekend that wouldn’t have been all that crazy had he not been riding snow skis.

I can honestly say that I’ve never seen a dude towed into one of the biggest wave breaks on the planet while wearing skis. When the conditions are right, Mavericks is right up there with Jaws in terms of the wave size. The biggest waves at Nazaré dwarf those other spots but they’re still home to some of the biggest waves on the planet.

So here’s something you won’t often see, a dude riding a wave bigger than your house while wearing skis and holding ski poles.

I don’t know how or why this popped up under my suggested/featured videos on YouTube but I’m pretty f’n glad it did because those guys were ripping, especially Chuck on his skis. Chuck has previously ridden Puerto Escondido aka the ‘Mexican Pipeline’ on a stand-up paddleboard which is pretty wild. He certainly sounds like a dude who isn’t terribly worried about what happens after he wipes out.

If you’re interested in learning more about Chuck’s career on the water, here’s a cool interview with him on The Surfer’s View that you can check out.