Snowstorm, minus 9° C, ice flowers on the window: anyone who was surfing in Hanstholm in Denmark in early 2024 must really love their sport. According to the Danish Meteorological Institute, there was the highest amount of snow inland for more than ten years and many drivers got stuck.
On the coast, a double pair of gloves, a tube scarf and short sessions were the recipe for enjoying winter water sports. "Cold Hawaii" instead of the Alps, surfboard instead of snowboard only applied to a few who took on the icy north-easterly wind here.
Back in December, there was a lot more going on in the Danish surf mecca: first there was a perfect weekend with side-offshore winds from the left, which the Danish wave elite made impressively good use of. You can see that Mads and Tobias Bjørna or Kenneth Danielsen are at home here. Very good riders from Germany such as Dominik Röckl, Frithjof Blaasch, Leon Jamaer and Steffi Wahl also enriched the spots.
"Keep material" was the goal of the day
On Christmas Day, the weather gods brought a violent north-westerly storm. The measuring station at Hanstholm harbour recorded a maximum wave height of 12.66m at half past eight in the morning. Some of the waves broke over the pier at the "fish factory" spot. The desired protection was therefore not reliable and the current was strong. Sails of around 3.6 square metres provided sufficient propulsion. The young Danish wordcupper Line Witttrup was one of the few who dared to venture between the white water rollers. "Keeping material" was the goal of the day, but a wash in such wave crests was not.
The days around New Year's Eve were calmer and surfers got their money's worth. Only the New Year's speech, including the announcement of the resignation of the Danish Queen Margaret, caused a brief stir in Denmark.
This was followed by the north-easterly storm with cold, ice and snow. As long as a "hyggelig" Danish stove helps to get warm again afterwards, surfers will certainly continue to go on winter sports holidays in "Ice-Cold Hawaii". The forecast looks good...
