NY Times · Oct 18, 2016
Surfing Under the Northern Lights
UNSTAD, Norway — This was all new to Tim Matley, a thin and boyishly blond Australian, who found himself above the Arctic Circle for the first time in this remote village with as many surf shops (two) as sheep farms.
His usual itinerary was six months of surfing in Australia, then six months in Indonesia. If the waves were high, that was great, as long as the temperature was higher. He had never before worn a hood, gloves and boots in a competition. In fact, he had seldom worn a wet suit.
“I like to feel my toes in the wax,” Matley, 34, said. “In boots, I can’t feel anything.”