When is it too cold?
During his recent trip to Silvaplana, Swiss Severne rider Balz Müller discovered a small opening in the middle of the lake usually inhabited by watersports lovers in the summertime. He decided to put the theory to the test. Here is his story.
Story by Balz Müller
Photos by Fabian Gattlen, Chris Czadil
“That same gust of wind threw me out of my foil flight path and threw me directly onto the ice surface.”
As a windsurfing pro you are constantly chasing summer. But this year – typically Swiss – I went skiing in the Alps in what is known as the summer foil windsurfing paradise Silvaplana.
During the first gondola ride up to Corvatsch, Silvaplana’s local mountain, I cheerfully discovered that in the frozen lake a small pond was created by a wild mountain creek. It was no question for me to exchange my snowboard with my surfboard. Luckily I had all the surf equipment with me in my van.
The stormy north wind shut down the ski lift a few days later. The nature around the lake was mystically beautiful. So I walked to the lake in my cosy warm Severne Primo neoprene and rigged my equipment full of excitement.
After only a few seconds on the water I realised that this was not an easy task: The boom froze instantly and always wanted to slip through my hands. The sail became a stiff, heavy object. It felt almost impossible to pump it up. On top of that, the water structure on the frozen lake was unreadable. The only way to see the gusts was by blown up snow that usually pushed me abruptly into the water.
That same gust of wind threw me out of my foil flight path and threw me directly onto the ice surface.
Truly a nightmare to swim under frozen water. Up to this point I never thought it would ever be too cold for a windsurfing session. But the temperatures far below zero degrees made it clear to me – we need heated booms!!
You can stay up to date with all of Balz’ crazy adventures on his social media channels:
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