Under An Arctic Sky
If you're looking for unique and aesthetically pleasing to the eye, then Under An Arctic Sky, a Chris Burkard studio film is for you.
Chris Burkard along with surfers Justin Quintal, Timmy Reyes & Sam Hammer set off on a journey to Iceland in search of arctic swell. Narrated by Burkard himself, he describes the arctic poles as one of the last and greatest undiscovered surf frontiers.
Upon arriving in Iceland, the guys meet up with locals to create a plan in search of waves. With a caravan of four cars they set out on their journey. The weather is cold sometimes with 80 plus mile an hour winds. Talk about brutal. Having reviewed weather and geography, their first goal is to head down to a city of Iceland called Isafjorour to catch a boat that will get them to a remote part of the island.
Fun fact: Isafjorour in itself had become a more remote part of Iceland because according to the captain, most people moved away leaving only about 6,000 people left in the area.
The challenge while in the boat is getting to and finding the spots. Of course weather played a major challenge as well. It isn't the ideal or normal place one goes to for a surf trip.
Just when the guys finally find a break, the weather unfortunately takes a turn for the worse and everyone is forced to head back to Isafjorour. At this point the guys are pretty disappointed but at the same time glad to be safe. There was a severe storm approaching and as the captain says "Nature is always in charge".
After getting back, the call was made to start driving out into the storm despite the warning against driving due to avalanches. Yikes! To top it all off, a state of emergency was declared claiming that the storm was the worst to have hit Iceland in 25 years! One of the guys described it as an "arctic hurricane".
Everyone almost felt like giving up on the surf trip, however they collectively made the decision to keep going after already having made so much effort. It paid off because they eventually did find the surf they were looking for.
Watching surfing in an arctic backdrop is something else. It's a whole other world, especially when you find yourself in the middle of nowhere. It's crazy to think that some of the guys hadn't even slept in 48 hours yet were out in waters at freezing temperatures.
Near the end of the film Chris heads out to check on the Northern Lights. He calls the guys out for a surf in hopes of getting some surf shots during a phenomenon that most will never venture out to see in their lifetime. The result is epic.
It's awesome to see surfing in such an incredible backdrop, however I'm sure being there in person and experiencing it first hand is even more insane.
Great takeaway from the film was that the risks are what make experiences worthwhile and great.
Another, is you need to remember that sometimes it's not about the end result, but rather the journey and process it took to get you there.
