“Your wetsuit has some holes in it.” Jacob Kelly told me. “So it’s going to be a little colder for you.”

It was May and we were standing on the banks of the Kananaskis River in the mountains between Calgary and Banff, Canada. The day before it had been snowing. I had finished photographing the surfers for Tourism Calgary and was about to try river surfing in the barely-above-freezing water.

That was not what I wanted to hear.

By the end of my hour-long surf session on the river wave the call The Mountain I was so fatigued that after falling and being swept downstream yet again I didn’t even bother to try and paddle upstream. I just got out of the river and started wobbily walking up the river bank.

I was completely spent, not from exertion, but from the frigid water.

I had new respect for Calgary’s river surfers. Not because of the ease with which they caught and slashed back and forth across the touchy wave on their ultra-short surfboards, but because they would spend whole days in the depths of the Canadian winter in the river, which is fed by glaciers.

Jacob Kelly showboating on the wave that I could barely stand up on.

Calgary, just an hour’s drive East of the Canadian Rockies, is an unlikely home to a passionate and growing tribe of river surfers. Among the most prominent are Neil Egsgard and Jacob Kelly of Surf Anywhere, a company that builds river surfing waves whose goal is to make Calgary the Mecca of river surfing.

As of now, there are two popular waves in the area: The Mountain in Kananaskis (about an hour’s drive from the city) and the 10th Street wave right beside the downtown core.

Surf Anywhere is the only company in the world that specializes in building river surfing waves (they’ve been doing it since 2008) and in the Calgary area they have a two unique opportunities.

First, the government is planning to rebuild a kayaking course that’s also on the Bow River in the city. If Surf Anywhere gets their way, they will be building even more waves within the city limits during the reconstruction.

The second opportunity is in Kananaskis. The Kananaskis River is controlled by a dam. This means two things. The flow is always consistent, which means consistent surfing. It also means that the river can be turned off like a faucet, and heavy machinery can be brought in to build waves, making it easier and cheaper to build waves than in a normal river.

Surf Anywhere wants to take advantage of this and plans to have 2 – 3 new waves of varying difficulty and size built by the end of this summer.

I couldn’t wait until then to visit so, although I plan to return, here’s what it was like during my 5-day visit in May.

Neil Egsgard working on river flow models for the new Kananaskis waves.

River Surfing in Kananaskis Country

If you want to go surfing in the Calgary area — unless you’re friends with one of the locals who know where to find the rest of the half-dozen waves in the area that are more-or-less secret spots — you’ll probably have to choose between The Mountain and the 10th Street wave.

The Mountain in Kananaskis is about a one-hour drive out of the city, but it is a markedly better wave than the 10th Street wave. It’s bigger and wider, which makes it both easier for a beginner to stand up on and more fun for an experienced surfer to play on.

Also — if Neil and Jacob at Surf Anywhere have their way — Kananaskis will have multiple features for all skill levels very soon, making it an even more accommodating spot to surf.

Neil thrashing The Mountain.

The Kananaskis River is also popular for canoeing and kayaking. Here are two canoers bombing over The Mountain.

Surfing in Downtown Calgary on the Bow River

Calgary’s 10th Street Wave is located right below the 10th Street Bridge on the downtown side of the river, which is walking distance from the city center. This is where most Calgarians first discover river surfing and learn to surf.

The wave can be seen from a popular walking and biking path, the CTrain, and the 10th Street Bridge. I’ve only been there a few times, but each time about half-a-dozen people have stopped to ask about the wave and how to get started. (Pro Tip: Stop by on wave Wednesdays when Jacob brings extra gear for people to try.)

The wave’s high visibility is probably responsible for the growth of Calgary’s river-surfing community, which has expanded rapidly in recent years.

Although the 10th Street Wave isn’t the biggest or best, it’s convenient, which makes it the busiest wave around. If you are able to visit during working hours, you’ll usually find the wave empty and will have it all to yourself. It usually starts to get busy around 6pm after most people have finished work.

How awesome would it be to get to go surfing everyday after work?

I’m jealous Calgary. Very jealous.

The 10th Street Wave lineup on a normal evening.

Jason McQuade

Chillin at the 10th Street Wave.

Jacob Kelly

Local surfboard shaper Jason McQuade working on a new ride.

Calgary Surf Culture

Surfing is a notoriously territorial sport. Personally, I prefer to avoid popular breaks frequented by both visitors and locals because the friction between them dampens the experience for me.

The vibe in Calgary is not like that at all. Yes, there is a bit of territorialism, but it only manifests itself in the few ‘secret’ waves around Calgary known only to the most dedicated river surfers (who spent their time scouring the local rivers to find them). Even then, some locations are kept secret partly for safety (either they’re too advanced or the inevitable ride downstream after falling is too dangerous for most surfers) or because they’re only accessible via privately-owned land.

But that’s where any territorialism ends.

The Calgary surf community is overwhelmingly friendly and supportive. This is Canada, after all.

The lineup is full of friendly banter, and you don’t need to be an amazing surfer to elicit cheers from the crowd. Every time a surfer shows a bit of progression — stands up for the first time or learns a new skill — clappings and ‘whoo-hooos’ erupt from the banks.

I was told by Jacob that this would happen. It happened to me twice during my trip: my first time standing up on The Mountain and my first time standing on the 10th Street Wave.

That’s how surfing is supposed to be.

The lineup at the 10th Street Wave.

The one maneuver that can only be done on a river wave: an acid drop (throwing your board onto the wave and jumping on to it).

Jacob on the 10th Street Wave at dusk.

Have you ever tried river surfing? How was it?

If you haven’t, would you?

Let me know in the comments!

The post Are Calgary and Kananaskis about to become a river surfing mecca? appeared first on XpatMatt.

Because of my work, I have a lot of online friends — people I’ve only spoken to through chat and email and other written communications. They all know I’m Canadian. I’m fairly well-known online as one of those Canadian travel bloggers.

But when first meet people and start to talk eyes widen and jaws go slack. “You really are Canadian.” They’ll say after I let fly a monologue filled with ‘eh’s and ‘oh yeah’s.

Since I’m so well-known as a being a Canadian blogger, I think it’s about time I paid tribute to the Great White North as a travel destination. So, here are my favorite adventures from the land that of flannel, Tim Hortons, and John Candy.

My favorite so far, that is…

Maligne Canyon Icewalk

The Maligne Canyon is one of those rare geographic oddities that allows you to see nature at work in bizarre and spectacular ways that you’d never before conceived of, like Antelope Canyon in Utah or the Doorway to Hell in Turkmenistan.

Maligne Canyon sits on the seam between two tectonic plates. It’s very narrow, about 5-10 meters (15-30 feet) wide with sheer walls rising up to 45 meters (150 feet). During the summer the canyon filled with water. But in the winter, when everything is frozen, the river drops below ground, enabling visitors to walk along the canyon floor.

This is where the fun begins. Water constantly seeps into the sides of canyon through cracks and caves, so the canyon walls become covered in otherworldly ice formations from waterfalls, to inverted droplets, to long horizontal bars. There are several ice caves along the walk, including one enormous one at the end beneath a tall waterfall that’s popular with local ice climbers.

This is by far one of the most geographically interesting and visually mesmerizing hikes I’ve ever been on. I highly recommend it.

For more photos of the Maligne Canyon Icewalk and other winter adventures in Jasper, check out my post: #MyJasper: Adventurers Only

Canoeing the Manigotagan River

The Manigotagan is a long river that meanders through the wilderness of Manitoba. Several years ago, I was fortunate to have been invited on a week long canoe trip on the river.

On my arrival, I learned many things. First, I learned that there is an entire culture of paddlers who spent much of their leisure time canoe tripping around the rivers and lakes of the Canadian Shield.

I also learned canoeing is supremely hard. The paddling part is relatively easy, but when rapids make the river impassable, and you have to carry all your gear and the canoes through kilometers of bush over rocky terrain (this is called portaging), it becomes grueling.

I also learned that Manitoba mosquitoes swarm into the air the moment the sun dips beyond the horizon, which makes sunset the official bedtime. From these lessons, I concluded that paddlers — who save money and sick days all year long to blow them on these tiring, mosquito-clouded trips — are slightly insane.

I also learned that you can cook cinnamon buns using camping gear and that Manitoba has some of the most beautiful and desolate landscapes in Canada. You can see more photos of that trip here.

Climbing Fishers Peak

My hometown of Cranbrook, British Columbia sits in the valley between the Rocky Mountains and and a mountain range called the Purcells. The rockies tower over the western landscape, but among them one peak rises significantly above the others: Fishers Peak. The hike ubiquitously known in the region as one of the most challenging and rewarding.

I didn’t try the hike until I was 33-years-old. It lived up to the stories. It was a grueling steep hike, climbing 1400 meters over just 10 kilometers of trail. By the end of the 12-hour round-trip everyone’s legs were sore and tired.

But it was more than worth it. The peak offers an unobstructed view of the surrounding mountains that seem to continue endlessly into the distance for 360 degrees.

See all the pictures from that trip here.

Snowboarding Everywhere

If you read my blog you know that I love snowboarding a lot.

Like, A LOT.

That’s because I grew up on the ski hill. I had a season’s pass every winter from the time I was 3 until I was 18-years-old. Now, I’m the author of the About.com Snowboarding Guide and every winter I put my travels on hold and return to Canada to do ‘research’.

I’ve ridden in Montana, Washington, California, Colorado, and Utah. They’re all spectacular places, but I’ll always have a special reverence for the wild Canadian Rockies which have an expansiveness that creates — for me at least — a more personal and spiritual feeling.

Whether hiking the local hill in the preseason with my brother, drinking beer and ripping spring turns with friends at Lake Louise, or exploring the remote backcountry of Jasper National Park, the Canadian Rockies will always be my favorite playground.

For more of my best skiing and snowboarding photos from over the years, check out this page.

The post My 4 Favorite Canadian Adventures (So Far) appeared first on XpatMatt.

This trip was sponsored by Tourism Calgary, but all opinions are my own.

In May Calgary Tourism offered me a challenge; to see how many adventure activities I could fit into 48-hours in the city. They’d send a film crew to document it and they’d foot the bill for the project.

Would I do it?

Hell yes I’d do it. I wasn’t going to turn down my third chance to be in a professional production (this was the first, and this was the second).

They asked what activities I wanted to try.

“Let me do some research and get back to you.” I replied. My fingers pecked my keyboard with hummingbird-like ferocity and my browser tabs multiplied like bunnies in the spring.

I’d heard there was a standing wave that you could surf somewhere in Calgary. I looked that up. I searched for a parkour club, because I’d always wanted to try it, and I figured I must also be able to kayak on the Bow River.

But then I ran out of ideas, still shy of 2-days worth of adventures.

What else could I do?

Mike, from Tourism Calgary suggested bobsledding and a trip down the fastest zipline in North America.

Perfect. The deal was sealed.

“Tell the editor who bleeps out words in the video that I’m sorry in advance, because this is going to be pretty bleeping rad and I will bleeping say so.”

In June, we executed the plan. You can get an idea of how it went from the video at the top of this blog post.

Below is the full story.

Day 1: Morning | Parkour Lessons at Breathe Parkour

I’ve always wanted to try parkour, also known as freerunning. The sport first entered popular culture when its founder was hired for the groundbreaking foot-chase scene at the beginning of the James Bond movie, Casino Royale. Parkour is basically applied gymnastics used for moving gracefully and acrobatically through urban landscapes.

The fellows at Breathe were very friendly and started me off with the basics. We did a quick round of lessons, including how to swing from a horizontal pole to leap and grab a building ledge, pole walking 12-feet in the air, and hucking flips into a foam pit.

I. Love. Foam pits.

The pinnacle of the lesson was reached when I tried to do the human flag, which is pictured below. What you don’t notice at first, is that my teacher is totally holding up my legs.

If you’re in Calgary and want to try it out, I highly recommend it. Lessons start at $25 for one and go down as you purchase more, while gym drop-ins are just $15.

Day 1: Afternoon | Ziplining and Bobsledding at the Canada Olympic Park

In 1988 Calgary hosted the Winter Olympics, and the Canada Olympic Park where they held ski jumping, bobsledding, and other gravity-assisted events, still sits on the western edge of town with many of the facilities open for use year-round.

Before this trip I had a vague idea that visitors could try bobsledding in the COP. I didn’t know, however, that it could be done in summer. And I had no idea that the COP was home to the fastest zipline in North America, on which you reach speeds over 120km per hour and drop 100m over a distance of just 500m.

The view from the top of the zipline, which was the top of the ski jump during the olympics, is amazing. During the descent, you go so fast that you have to throw out a parachute to slow yourself down and you’re strongly advised by staff to lean way back with your legs in the air when the you hit the end of the track.

The stop is rather abrupt.

The sign below says it all.

For video purposes, I got to do it twice, which I wasn’t complaining about at all.

Our bobsled ‘guide’ was a hefty Australian — one of their Olympic bobsledders.

The bobsled ride is pretty intense. The bobsled rattles manically and the g-force around the corners is powerful.

We got to do it three times, and each time it got a bit smoother as we learned how to brace for the corners.

Day 1: Dinner | The Palamino Smokehouse

This wasn’t exactly an adventure, but Palamino Smoke definitely deserves a nod. This place is a Calgary institution. It’s one of the grimier areas of downtown (not that Calgary really gets very grimy), which only adds to the the charm of what most Calgarians say is the best greasy rib house in the city.

And by many Calgarians I mean my sister’s husband and his friends, who were very jealous when they heard where I ate.

I’d have to agree. We had a dinner of beer and a enormous meat platter with ribs, chicken, and fries swimming in minced garlic. But I’d have to say my favorite was the bacon-wrapped corn on the cob.

Yes, you heard me right. Bacon. Wrapped. Corn.

You now have all the necessary information to decide if you want to eat there. Either you’re garlic slathered, bacon-wrapped [insert any food on the planet here] kind of person, or your not.

Day 2: Morning | Kayaking on the Bow River

I’ve had my share of kayaking adventures. Well, mishaps, actually. Six of one, half-dozen of the other I say.

But this was my first chance to take real kayaking lessons and learn some whitewater technique. To top it off, my friend Adam — the drummer for Open Sails who I first met in Taiwan — would be joining me.

We headed out to the tree-lined shores of the Bow River — an enormous river that runs through the city — in Bowness Park where we were met by Steve Wapple, our instructor from the University of Calgary Outdoor Center.

First we paddled slowly around a calm eddy and Steve explained a few different strokes and techniques. After that, he showed us how to get into the fast water without tipping and how to navigate.

Soon we were cruising down the Bow River in the sun and dipping ourselves in the water just to cool off. Near the end of the trip we found a standing wave where we all took turns kayak surfing it — good practice for what was to come.

Day 2: Lunch | Containr Bar

We headed down to Calgary’s trendy Kensington neighborhood, to Contanr Bar a cool little spot built out of 100% found materials in the alley beside a posh bar/restaurant that gets so busy it can actually send people to sit on in the alley on chairs people threw away to eat off of recycled pallets…

…and like it.

It was a really chill little spot. Adam and I caught up, laughed about the old days, munched on duck fat popcorn and deep fried pig ears, as scratchy music from the vinyl on the vintage record player filled the alley.

Day 2: Afternoon | Surfing

I’ve done a bit of surfing here and there. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not that good. But I thought this was going to be really easy.

You see, the hardest part of learning surfing is knowing how to get in the exact right place to catch the wave. If you can do that, the rest is relatively straightforward.

The wave in Calgary is a standing wave in a river. It doesn’t move. You can see exactly where you’re going.

No problem, right?

As usual, I was astoundingly wrong.

What the wave gives away by being stationary, it makes up for by being fickle — especially on a day when the river is low, as it was when we visited.

Getting into the wave laying down is fairly easy, but standing up without causing the board to nosedive or be sucked back over the wave requires a quick and precise leap to your feet.

I have to thank the editors of the video for making it look as though I may have actually stood up. I came very close once or twice, but never actually did.

That really doesn’t matter though. The worst day of surfing is still better than the best day not surfing, so it was a win.

And it was one of the friendliest lineups I’ve ever been in — mainly because most of the surfers out there were able to bond based over the difficulty of simply standing up on that wave.

It’s not over for me and that wave. Not by a long shot. My sister lives in Calgary and I visit several times a year.

Round 2 is coming soon.

Day 2: Dinner | One18 Empire

Our last stop of the day was at Calgary’s new posh whiskey bar, One18 Empire. It’s an upscale place with a selection of whiskeys that would make Jack Daniels blush and bartenders that know their stuff.

We munched on maple-wrapped dates and a charcuterie of cured meats and cheeses while we tasted fine whiskeys from around the world to top off the 48-hour adventure.

If you liked my video, check out the full series on the Calgary Tourism website.

The post The 48-Hour Calgary Adventure appeared first on XpatMatt.