Watch: Josh Mulcoy // Within Reach
Josh Mulcoy’s first trip to Alaska was way back in 1991. 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,” says Mulcoy. “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.”
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,” Mulcoy continues. “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.”
Comments
Wow, that scenery above is absolutely breathtaking.
And at 17.00, it's great to see real appreciation and stoke.
Nice one
Cause of death - "Surfing in the Arctic"
Epitah - "It was worth it"
Thats the best thing ive ever read.
Just gonna change Artic to Morn Pen
Except it's in the Pacific ;)
"Like standing on the beach.. throwing head high, peeling left down the beach.. Don't even like going left...like so stoked...ahh it's too good".... classic statement, the joy & the stoke. Fun waves, great scenery...just a bit cold!
Josh Mulcoy, one of the better (and not dead or in jail) guys out of that era of Santa Cruz surfers. Son of the legendary "harbour Bill" . Always had a bit of a struggle with the whole "soul pro" angle of surfing , hard to get sponsors to pay for trips when you don't want to show any pictures but I guess Vans must be on board with the amount of advertising that clip showed. Epic scenery and empty lineups so good on you Josh, lucky bugger, would love to see the footage he doesn't show.
Tunes!
guy rips
A buddy I surf with was born and raised there. Learnt to surf around there...
Geeze he was not happy when I ran into him last weekend.
Instantly went on a rant about the surfer mag cover and the film.
In staying out of it though, you decide with the other how many people viewed this....
I flew to Alaska with surfboards once . buried them in four feet of snow outside the house I was staying at....for two months....(lots of snowboarding though).LOL
I'll never forget looking out the window of the plane as we were landing . looking down towards the ocean realizing it was frozen solid.....
Fark, that's gnarly. I don't think they have too much to worry about with hoards of visiting surfers there. Too cold, too fickle, too much hassle to get to for the vast majority of surfers.
Classis stuff Lanky. Reassure old mate that I for one have no intention of crowding out Alaska, ever.
Incredible scenery though.
Besides the snow and ice, forget about sharks, they've got grizzly bears!
Guy can surf and very well when you factor how much rubber he has on. And yeah I don't think it is the new Mexico. One thing I notice about the rivers they have in those latitudes is how glassy it can get it is like a mirror when you look behind him when he is talking. Noticed that in Scotland last year, was amazing the reflection on a loch of the mountains and scenery. Never experience it in Australia, except a little at Lake Pedder a couple of years ago.
Unreal scenery, tunes...
So good to see an old bloke about my age ride well
That lifted my spirits
sooo nice!
Nice video but too cold for me. My extosis's grew a couple mill just watching that. Bears grabbing salmon in the shorey seals the deal
In times past myself and my mates would surf at a sneaky little beach which had a semi-permanent population of bears.
This beautiful cove was at the base of a hill and a bit off the beaten track so we’d usually have the sweet sandbars which occasionally formed all to ourselves. But the beach was a different matter.
Apart from the bears there were all sorts of twinks , chickens , daddies and flamers . Not to mention the bulls , dinkies and bois which’d be loitering around the place.
Nothing particularly scary , just doing what nature intended them to do.
One day there was an enthusiastic game of bottomless French cricket being played by a few bears and their cubs. Cause it was a bit chilly they were still wearing shirts , jumpers , shoes and socks . Just no pants in order to express their freedoms.
I’m not sure what led to the notion, but my mate figured it’d be worthwhile to investigate a bear’s personal items whilst he was playing cricket. Nothing nefarious, no thought of theft . He just got the bear’s underwear and stretched them over this huge flat rock until they were basically 6 sizes larger than they had been. He then folded and replaced the underwear exactly as he’d found them.
I still wonder what would’ve been going through the bear’s mind when the day at the beach was at an end and he went to put his massively outsized undies back on.
You been having days out at Kings Beach at Broken Head?
Such a cruel twist of fate that the place wasn't called Queens Beach...
I'm searching for meaning...
The vision that keeps returning is Humphrey B who wears no undies at all.
I’ve been overthinking that shit for years .
You’ve just got to accept it as a unique breed of avant- garde performance art to be valued on its impact and not misinterpreted by overlaying any preconceptions over its stand alone statement.
Speaking of undies....
And here’s a relevant question, well relevant to “ Bare bear beach “ anyway : Why is it that the first thing a hippy sheila will do as soon as she’s shed her togs on a nude beach is cartwheels ?
Dunno, maybe to air it out if it's a typical hippy long thatchy beard