This small barren islet is located off shore of a North Atlantic village, with some waves breaking into a channel of deeper water.

The photo below shows a different angle on a different day. Look at waves peeling further in to the inlet. Pretty interesting. With some bigger swells there would be some nice waves coming through these parts.

top photo cred: sanda, bottom photo cred: christensen

Today we will reveal the 5th and 4th place most desirable freezing cold waves.

#5: Falling into 5th place is alaskan glacier surfing. Why is this the most desirable? Because the wave is perfect, the scenery is breathtaking, and the water is freezing cold glacier-melt. If it’s so good, why is it in 5th place? The melting water of glaciers deposits enormous amounts of sediment, meaning the water is thick with silt, almost mud-like, making the actual surfing experience a little bit more unpleasant than what one would be used to day-to-day.

#4: Number four on the list of the Absolutely Most Desirable Place To Surf In the Arctic or Antarctic Regions is none other than Elephant Island. Scouted by Steve Hawk and Chris Malloy, this small chunk of rock close to Antarctica had some surfable waves worthy of a news arcticle in the LA Times. Made famous by  Sir Ernest Shackleton’s renown expedition and survival story, these courageous surfers have contributed to arctic-surf history by pulling into a few icy shackletons of their own.

Finally Arctic Surf Blog resumes. Thank you to those of you who have held tight, and are still dedicated to discovering interesting facts about surfing in the arctic and antarctic. In this post I would like to pose a question to you, the reader. Please list the top 5 freezing cold places to surf that you find are the most desirable. I will be compiling a list of my own, utilizing the extensive database of research we have at our disposal here at our station, and will post the definitive 2010 Most Desirable Arctic Surf Spots shortly. Remember to take into consideration the beauty of the natural environment, lack of inaccessibility, harshness of weather, perfection of surf, viciousness of the wildlife, and friendliness of the surf culture as factors in gaining a higher desirability. Looking forward to seeing your votes!