In landlocked Switzerland there is no access to the sea and no waves. Until now.
A surfer decided to bring waves to Switzerland and created Alaïa Bay wave garden near Sion in the Swiss canton of Valais not far from Verbier and other action Swiss towns. The operation is so new it doesn’t yet show up on Google’s satellite imagery. The video above shows Switzerland’s new wave machine in action.
The idea for the facility came in 2015 when Adam Bonvin returned from a surf trip to Hossegor in France and dreamt of bringing the surfing experience to Switzerland. In 2016, a crowdfunding initiative raised CHF 100,000 for the project in 50 days.
The name “Alaïa” comes from the first surfboards used by Hawaiians and the facility is the first surf pool of its kind in continental Europe.
The video above shows how the technology works and the different kinds of waves it can produce. It can make 300 waves up to 2m of height per hour.
The facility offers everything from beginners’ lessons to pro sessions. However, it isn’t cheap – prices start at CHF 129 a session.
More on this:
Alaia Bay website (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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