Surf the  Wild West Montana

RSM:   Gregory when was the first time you went river surfing   & what type of board to you prefer . 

 GR : The first time I tried surfing in the river was 1994 at Scutters Falls on the Delaware river, I went kayaking with some buddies,

as we were playing the thought occurred to try it with a surfboard.

I started surfing around 87. I moved to South Carolina, met my wife who was originally from Montana and she eventually

 wanted to move back. We moved to Billings in which the Yellowstone River runs through it.

One while fishing in 09 I found a standing wave and started surfing it when it was in.

 In 2010 we had major flooding with super high flows that eroded the bank and moved the boulders that formed the wave.

I was bummed that my chances of surfing were gone.

 In 2011 I took a surf trip to Ecuador and felt home sick when I returned.

 Surfing has been a major part of my life since I was 14 and being landlocked really sucked.

 Well sure enough during high water I scoured and scouted out the river for something to surf.

I came across a video of lunch counter in Wyoming found out it was 6 hours away and what flows it was in.

So that June I took a trip, struggled at learning the wave but eventually got it. So that was my big thing watching the flows and heading to Lunch counter.

Still it was not enough. .

RSM:Can you give us a brief history on Montana’s river surfing scene , the past till now . 

GR: The kayak community is small here, and every time I met a kayaker I would pick their brain, but they would not share info. My wife and I took a road trip to the Washington coast and stopped in at Strongwater.

I met Luke and KB and was stoked to find out that I was not the only guy in Montana that surfed and I walked out with one of their boards. I purchased a board with the thought of using it in the ocean and maybe the river. I told him the issues I found by using an ocean board in the river he stated the board I purchased would make it easier.

RSM: The waves on the Yellowstone river look incredible ,can you tell us a little about the river waves . 

GR: Fast forward in July of 14 I was driving down the frontage road and something caught my eye. It was a wave train that could only be seen from 1 spot so I had to stop and check it out. I was absolutely amazed at this perfectly place wave. I rushed home and grabbed my board and raced back.

It was just fucking amazing ...I can't describe the joy it brought.

After a few days the flow dropped and it was gone. I thought about that wave every day, it haunted me I was obsessed. I drove back many times and there was no sign of it existence. Then one day about the middle of January We had a warm sunny day so I took a little drive. I decided to stop and just look at the river and to my surprise there was a wave. The joy just took over me. I started jumping up and down with excitement it was the same as the first video released as Slater seeing his first man made secret wave. I surfed a lot the next month or so. I met some kayaker and told them of my find and they gave me the yeah whatever. Needless to say I had the spot to myself until the flows rose and it disappeared. One day I went back and another wave was in only only bigger greener and a lot more fun. Since then I have introduced a bunch of people to this wave and river surfing. I named it the G-spot, mostly because of a discussion I was having with some kayakers mainly the ones who brushed me off. These guys love this wave I discovered. We have become friends and they started sharing wave spots.

So far I have found 13 waves on the Yellowstone. Some that were told to me and others I have found.