Beyond the Wave: Bungee Surfing
When thinking about river surfing, most of us picture someone surfing on a river wave. But not everyone has a river AND a wave in their backyard. There’s a rare breed called “bungee surfers” who hit the river on skimboards and bungee ropes. Jonas (24) is one of them. He lives in Switzerland and bungee surfs the Aare River.
Hey Jonas, can you say a few words about yourself and how you got into river surfing?
I am Jonas, 24, from Bern, Switzerland. I am the founder of bungeemonkey.ch, a webpage that sells bungee surf equipment. About 5 years ago, I started bungee surfing. Having seen bungee surfers in the local river Aare, a few friends and I bought a rope and started practicing. Soon after, we got absolutely obsessed with it.
Do you think it’s important to distinguish between “river surfing” and “bungee surfing”?
By now the word river surfing is rather widespread, and used as an expression to surf on a steady wave in a river. Most people, especially outside of Switzerland, have never even heard about bungee surfing, therefore the likelihood of confusion is very small. Nevertheless, I think it makes sense to distinguish between the two terms mentioned above.
What do you prefer between the two?
Last year I tried river surfing in Munich, which is cool, but I definitely prefer bungee surfing. When bungee surfing, there are higher speeds involved, you have more freedom in terms of where you want to surf, and it is amazing to be able to gain so much speed just with the force of the water.
What’s state of art in bungee surfing? What are the sickest tricks and who are the best surfers?
There are a few tricks you can do: 180′s, ollies, surfing fin-first or surfing a circle while passing the handle behind your back. You can also just do a variety of turns, either you try to make as many narrow turns as possible in one run, or you make one or two big turns, where you lean into the curve so that you can easily touch the water. A combination of different tricks works as well.
The best and the most famous “bungee surfer” is probably Jan Gyger. He really brought the sport forward. Not only did he start do develop and sell bungee-ropes about 10 years ago, he also enthusiastically told people about bungee surfing and got new people to try the sport.
Where are the biggest and most active bungee surf communities in Europe right now?
I am still trying to find those (laughs). As far as I know, the Greater Bern area is the biggest bungee surfing “hub”, even worldwide. Zurich and Lucern have an active bungee surf community as well. The only bungee surf community outside of Switzerland that I have ever heard of is the one in Brixen, northern Italy.
Are there any bungee surf comps in Europe?
As far as I know, there were two small contests about 10 years ago. The small scale contest took place in Rubigen, 10 minutes outside of Bern, Switzerland.
Suppose I want to start bungee surfing … what equipment do I need? Could I use my casual river surfboard? Which bungee ropes could you recommend? How much are they?
To bungee surf, you need a bungee rope, a handlebar with a static rope, a surfboard and a river with a rather strong current and some safety equipment.
You can surf with any type of board, as long as it is not too big in terms of volume (no soft tops for example). I even saw people surfing with wakeboards, however I would not recommend it.
With www.bungeemonkey.ch I try to make bungeesurfing more affordable, you can get a good rope starting from 489.- (420€). Besides my own webpage, I can recommend Jan Gyger’s Feel The Planet or www.royalropes.ch.
Let’s talk about safety, what are the risks in bungee surfing?
There are a few safety tips to consider, I ll mention the most important ones here, you can find a complete list on www.bungeemonkey.ch/safety (currently only available in German):
- Never surf alone
- Always bring two knives, best hook-shaped knives or diving knives so that the second person could cut the rope if the surfer gets tangled up.
- Know your spot, be aware of potential dangers: swirls, waterfalls, know where the nearest exit is, watch the weather etc.
- Make sure the water is deep enough so that you don’t hit the ground when falling off the board
Do I need permission to mount a rope to a bridge in Germany, Austria and Switzerland?
- Switzerland: It is neither explicitly forbidden nor allowed, but widely tolerated. During five years of bungee surfing at different locations in Switzerland I didn’t get in troubles once. A guy who bought one of my bungee ropes however reported that once when he was bungee-surfing Limmat river during summer, Police told him to go away, as he was allegedly putting swimmers in danger. That was the only incident I have ever heard of.
- Germany: I tried bungee surfing in the “Eisbach” river in Munich, but the police sent me away after a few turns. However I have to admit that it was reasonable as there were swimmers passing by from time to time. I plan to try other locations in Germany this summer.
- Austria: I have never ever surfed in Austria. However I would love to, if someone out there knows a good spot, let me know and I ll come to bungee surf there.
Where do you see the future of bungee surfing in the next 10 years in Europe? Tricks, events, industry?
It’s still a mystery to me why the bungee surf community is not bigger. One factor that plays a role is certainly that bungee surfing can only be practiced in a few places where there is a river, its current is rather strong, there is a bridge to attach the rope to, the local authorities allow it, the water is clean etc. I expect the bungee surf community to grow, but very slowly.
What’s your next goal in bungee surfing?
I would like to “surf higher bridges”. Currently the highest bridge where I attached my rope has been 23 meters above the river. I intend to try to surf at bridges, which are 40–50 meters above the water.
Anything you’d like to add?
If you would like to try bungee surfing send me a message on Instagram @bungeemonkey.ch or an email to jb@bungeemonkey.ch. If you are from Europe, chances are I will drive to your place to surf your river and make you try bungee surfing.
Thank you for your time Jonas, catch you on the river!
Brought to you by
Simon Simon is the "Youngest Veteran". He has been chasing river waves since almost 20 years, starting on a wave in the south of Munich, one of the birth places of our sport. Simon loves high water surfing and river surf comps and dreams about barrelling river waves, since he was lucky enough to surf one during his many trips.
You may also like
Beyond the Wave: Flatland Skimboarding →
Whitewater Parks For Both Surfers and Kayakers – The Challenge Ahead →
Riverboarding Pioneer Needs Your Vote →
