Wolves, Snow, and Dangerously Shallow Slabs (Watch)

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Mar 2, 2025 3:41 PM ET

Surfers in Canada are built different. They’re accustomed to the cold, they trek into the boonies in search of waves, they share the waters (and the land) with all types of wildlife and, quite often, all that extra effort pays off. The juice is worth the squeeze, let’s say, if you’re willing to go the extra mile.

Reed Platenius is one of those surfers. The Tofino, British Columbia shredder is often seen scoring some of Canada’s best waves, following in the footsteps of legendary Maple Leaf surfer Peter Devries, decked out in neoprene head-to-toe, and going off-the-grid in his homeland for some of the heaviest, dreamiest, and rogue-est waves in the land of isolated, cold-water tubes.

His latest adventure is just that. A pitching slab over a shallow, often exposed shelf, off in the middle of nowhere. So remote, in fact, that there’s wolf tracks dotting the beach…or, rather, snow.

The video, a full-on adventure surf strike mission in the wilds of Canada, has twinges of Mason Ho, yet with much more rubber, as Platenius and friends dodge rocks while tucking into the a dreamy righthand slab setup. The whole thing – the cold, the snow, the boating out into the unknown – is not for the faint of heart surfer. It takes a little hutzpah to embark on such a journey.

Speaking about the rugged nature of surfing in his home, from a previous edit, Platenius said:

“Navigating the surf scene on Vancouver Island is no easy feat. It’s a science involving reading charts, understanding weather patterns and ocean tides. It’s also understanding the land and the surrounding waters. It’s being ocean savvy, and having a willingness for exploration.

“The island is like nowhere else. It’s cold, stormy and unpredictable. Surfing here isn’t necessarily hard; you can just roll up to the beach in Tofino like anywhere else and paddle out. However, finding new and uncrowded, higher quality waves involves a whole lot more. Long drives, long boat rides, open ocean, and unpredictable weather. A lot goes into putting a piece like this together. Sometimes we’ll travel 9 hours one way and come away with nothing. But for Reed, it’s the drive for exploration and adventure that keeps him motivated.”

As mentioned, those Canadians…they got something different coursing through their veins. And it’s not just the extra Crown Royal and maple syrup.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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