River surfing Bulken

After a rather cold May with a number of snowy days even in town at only 200masl spring weather is finally here. Warm weather in Hordaland at this time of the year is synonym of snow melting and water discharging into the rivers. Nothing special about it right? Or yes? For most skiers, the snow melting marks the end of the skiing season and is kinda sad. For me, it means increased chances of surfing close to Bergen. There is no regular ocean surfing in Bergen and it is usually a minimum of 5h drive from here. But we do have river surfing when the conditions are right so I actually get excited about the snow melting in the mountains.

View of the line-up from the bridge

I am a dedicated surfer (not good at all but dedicated) from Basque Country where we are very lucky to be able to surf almost every day of the year within 20-30min drive. That is perhaps what I miss most about living in Norway. Not the warm days, not the sunny days... but the ocean. An ocean with surfable waves close by. I guess I didn't appreciate it enough but it is such a privilege to have so many breaks close to Bilbao and being able to have a surfing session before or after work.

It is the last weekend of May, with air temperatures of up to 25ºC, we just got a new van and the water levels in Bulken are looking quite good for kicking off the river surfing season. I am still not quite sure which water levels are the best ones for this wave to break but after some try and error last year I think I figured out the right range. I am driving without the uncertainty of not knowing if I would find anything surfable. My last time there was a complete failure and I had to go for a run instead. 

Turbulence created by the pumping motion

I park next to the road and I see another campervan coming and parking next to me. It has surfing stickers. Yes! I think is gonna be the right day. I run down to have a better view of the wave. It is working! I talk to the local and she says that yesterday was good and that today is looking even better. I jump into my wettie and don't bother about botties and gloves. It is so warm in the sun! The water is pretty cold though but doable without booties. This wave is pretty special and tricky. For someone used to surf ocean waves it almost feels like starting from scratch. There are a number of things that differentiate river and ocean surfing. River waves are static while ocean waves are dynamic. In the ocean you paddle out, wait for the right wave, paddle towards the beach to catch it and you surf in the direction of travel of the wave moving towards the beach. In river surfing, you don´t move back and forth but only can travel sideways. This is quite counterintuitive for an ocean surfer. This particular wave is at the limit of the lake in Voss where the water levels differ from the river farther downstream. During winter the water level at the lake is too low but in late spring the water level at the lake rises quickly and is higher than the river. The water level difference and the shallow bathymetry at this point creates a perfect pocket to surf. The current pushes you downstream but if you manage to stay in the pocket (the most energetic part of the wave or where the curvature is larger) one can generate enough speed and actually stay on the wave. Easy dynamics right? But, the actual surfing it is not that easy. It took me a couple of days to be able to stand and do some turns but after 5-6 sessions I am far from being an expert.

Dropping in the wave from the rocks at the river bank

Today is really glassy and the conditions are almost perfect. I start trying out a 5'8" board, 31l, wide nose, almost no rocker with 3 fins. This board works quite well in the ocean in summer conditions with mushy small waves. I don't have any problems to do the drop and stand up but when I get to the pocket I do not manage to stay there for long. It feels that the current is pushing me back as soon as the nose of the board makes contact with the water. I try over and over and the same outcome. Is it the flat rocker the problem? I brought another board with me: "Pimkie" is a high performance 5'10" with a volume of about 26-27l. I think is too little volume for river surfing. Flotation definitely helps to not get pushed back by the current straight away so I am a bit sceptical about using this board here. The three fins setup does not really work well in the river. It creates too much drag and it is better to ensure you generate enough speed. I try the 4-fin setup in this board which is a compromise between stability and speed. In my first tries I manage to stand up but not to stay on the wave. The board does not float enough and I need to keep pumping and pumping to keep enough speed to stay on the wave. I end up getting used to it and even if I have to constantly generate speed it feels better than the previous board. The more aggressive rocker definitely helps. It makes sense that you don't want the nose of your board to be in contact with the flat section of the wave where the current is just too strong.

Chilling in the sweet spot of the wave

The local shredder that is surfing with me is really good. She's riding a mini-malibu around 7'6" and she manages to stay so long in the wave doing some small stylish turns. It is also so beautiful to watch others surfing in this beautiful light, the green colours of the river, the snow in the top of the mountains in the background... it is such an idyllic place! We are actually next to the road but it doesn't feel like it. We can only see the forest and we only hear the sound of the water running downstream.

More locals start to join and at some point, we are up to 10 surfers lining at the river bank all watching the surfer in the water and waiting for our chance to drop in the wave again. The waiting time is not too bad and I talk to some of the locals about the wave, how to improve the technique, when is the right come to surf here, etc. Everyone here is very friendly and there is an amazing vibe between everyone. In Basque Country the vibe in the water is way more competitive and is not rare to find some assholes that do not respect the surf etiquette. It is very nice and relaxing to not need to fight for the waves. I surf for 4 hours in the morning until I am exhausted and need something to eat and drink.

Sequence: making a small turn in the pocket of the wave

In the afternoon I come back and surf for another 3-4 hours. Nad joins me but she doesn't want to surf. It is indeed not a beginner-friendly wave but is fun to watch and she enjoys the place. It is a good warm day for chilling in the sun and taking some nice pictures of me and of the other more experienced surfers. Some of the other guys are really good. They can drop in jumping directly on the board, do a number of turns and different maneuvers and stay very long on the wave. It is very impressive to see. It is nice to see the variety of boards they are using. Some of them are shaped specifically for river surfing: short and wide boards with a lot of volume and a decent rocker.

Magic light at the river in Bulken

It has been such a magic day of surfing. I probably have been around 8 hours in my wettie. We come again the day after but the water level is already too high and the wave is too flat; only surfable with a longboard. This wave is so fickle, challenging but so addictive at the same time. I am gonna be checking the water level the next weeks and looking forward to getting to surf in this river break again. River surfing is really fun!!