River surfers invade Alberta's Rocky Mountains

Surfers line up andtake turns slipping into a perfectly formed wave, popping up ontheir boards and carving through the clear blue water.

It's a familiar scene on the balmy beaches of Australia, Hawaii or South Africa, but this is a frigid November afternoonin Alberta's Rocky Mountains.

It's called "river surfing" and it's a growing trend for surfers around the world who don't happen to live close to an ocean.

Neil Egsgard,leader ofthe Surf Anywhere group thatbuilt this wave on theKananaskisRiver, says it's oneof the best "inlandwaves" around.

"Right now,it's the best wavethat'sworking in the world, the best wave in Canada for sure."

It took Egsgard about a decade to get the permission and the time needed to build this wave on public land about an hour west of Calgary, a process that involved placing boulders inthe river to form a channel.

"It cost about $25,000 cash, with enormous amounts of donated time and expertise and many tens of thousands of dollars of donated material," he says.

"Building a good wave for $25,000 is an incredible achievement.River waves historically cost between $200,000 to millions."

The result is a permanent wave that surfers canride for free, without actually moving along the river.

"It needs to be fast, it needs to bepowerfuland it needs to be smooth," says Egsgard.

Hot waves in cold water

Jacob Kelly Quinlanstands shivering in a snow bank as he tugson his wetsuit. Quinlan is somethingof a river surfing aficionado, having surfed more than 50rivers from Germany to Oregon, andsaysCalgaryis nowa hub for the sport.

"This is one of the central points for river surfing culture around the world," he says.

Quinlan, who also teaches river surfing, says the sport is similar to traditional ocean surfing, but with a twist.

"The guys on the shore are watching you surf and it doesn't look like you are going anywhere," he says.

"When you'reout there on the wave,everything is moving so fast. It feels like you'regoing a million miles a minute."

However, Quinlan admits surfing on a river comes with its own challenges.

"You'regoing tohit some rocks," hesays.

"I have taken definitely some knees and shins, and bounced off the bottom a couple of times."

But that potential pain isn't preventing the sport from growing, as more and more peoplelikeJulia Barnescatch their first inlandwave.

Barnes, who runs a Calgary-basedsurf-wear company, saysriding a wavenext tosnowcappedmountainsis almosttoo good to be true.

"It's pretty magical.I don't think any real surfers, ocean surfers, can say the same,so this is quite amazing."