'Can I Surf That' Showcases Ladies Charging River Waves

MORRISON, Colorado - We are constantly impressed by the initiative of the SUP community. Every year we see a flurry of new projects, adventures and trips and started by various aspects of the SUP population around the world. We recently caught wind of 'Can I Surf That' - a Kickstarter campaign by a group of SUP river surfing women who are taking their passion to the world through a film.

To give you the lowdown, here's the full story by Claire Chappell, one of the surfers involved in the project.

'Can I Surf That?' is a women's SUP film project focused on surfing the biggest and best river waves this continent has to offer. It all started as a brainstorm between a few girls that just couldn't get enough of SUP on rivers. No matter how cold, how tired, how much swimming it took, every time we carved a bit more on a wave or surfed a bit longer, the energy just intensified. The feeling of surfing on these standing waves was addicting to us and we thought - let's bring this sport out of the shadows. Most people in the river community know a bit about it and I think ocean SUPers are beginning to be aware but the general public hasn't a clue.

Image: George Hendrix 

Dozens of ocean surf movies have moved and inspired audiences for decades. We think it's time to shed some light on the other side of surfing...rivers. We think that watching a surfer take wide carving turns across a huge green standing river wave with heaps of whitewater behind it will grab your attention. We also plan to show you the work that goes in behind the scenes.

Image: George Hendrix 

In order to surf these big gorgeous waves, you have to have the right week of the year, the right water level as the snow melts and the rains cause surges. From May through September, we will travel thousands of miles, camp, live on a strict budget, scout our locations well, surf our brains out and swim in cold whitewater way more than any sane person would. At the end of the season, we hope to emerge with a collection of footage that never existed before. Women who are hungry for big river waves throwing everything they got into sharing that passion on film.

Image:: Shellay Glatz 

Once the idea was born we sat down and really calculated how much time and money this would take. We started a Kickstarter project with a conservative goal of $6,000. We have gained sponsorships in the way of gear and some finiancial support as well. Everyone has been incredibly encouraging and we are hopeful that we make our goal and can get to filming in the next few weeks!