As skiers and snowboarders, we all grew up idolizing Alaska as ground zero for epic backcountry lines but a certain segment of surfers also obsessed with the 49th state’s wild terrain and see it as the greatest frontier for a sport usually associated with warmer waters. Surfer just posted this film titled “Within Reach” about a dude who first tested the AK waters in the 1990’s and has been on the vanguard of the far north’s surf scene ever since:
Josh Mulcoy’s first time to Alaska was for SURFER way back in the early ’90s, and it landed him a cover Opens a New Window. That trip also began an obsession with the state that’s lasted two and a half decades, in which time he’s been back at least once every year.
“There’s been some trips that had some fun waves, and some trips that had some really bad waves. I guess I have an addiction to places that never get good, because I keep going back. Sounds stupid, but it’s true: I’ve gotten to surf perfect waves in other places but I’ve never had that feeling like I’ve had in [Alaska], when it all comes together.” –Josh Mulcoy
For Mulcoy, it certainly all came together on a recent expedition, the first time he’s truly scored in Alaska since that maiden trip as a teenager:
“To pull up this time and have it doing it again was just a dream. Like 25 years? Are you serious? To get it again with my friends…I dunno, those were the best waves I’ve had in years. And the best moments of surfing, because of where it was and what it was.”
As skiers and snowboarders, we all grew up idolizing Alaska as ground zero for epic backcountry lines but a certain segment of surfers also obsessed with the 49th state’s wild terrain and see it as the greatest frontier for a sport usually associated with warmer waters. Surfer just posted this film titled “Within Reach” about a dude who first tested the AK waters in the 1990’s and has been on the vanguard of the far north’s surf scene ever since: