Following Kerouac to Desolation Peak

By Morgan Bernard Originally published by Teton Bros. I’ve wanted to climb to the fire lookout at Desolation Peak in Washington’s North Cascades National Park since I first picked up a Kerouac novel years ago. As a writer and traveler who seeks inspiration in adventure, Kerouac is my north star. His novels are memoirs poorly […]

Nori Suzuki in the West & the Birth of Teton Bros

By Morgan Bernard Originally published by Teton Bros. When Nori Suzuki and I sat down to chat, I could see the sun tuck behind the Olympic Mountains across Puget Sound outside my window in Seattle. As Nori’s face appeared on my screen, the last rays of light from an early October Monday faded away. It […]

Mexican Firefighters Step Up When Others Stand Down

By Morgan Bernard Originally published by TrooRa Magazine. 2025 has seen one natural disaster after another. The year began with the catastrophic fires in Los Angeles (LA), which burned roughly 57 000 acres, destroying over 18 000 structures and killing approximately 440 individuals in the process. The spring brought severe thunderstorms and a flurry of […]

The Enduring Impact of the Texas Hill Country

By Morgan Bernard Originally published by TrooRa Magazine. I was just getting back to my car and into cell service range from a hike in the foothills of the Cascades outside of Seattle when my phone buzzed with a text from my sister. It was a link to an article with the headline, “At least […]

Artistic Expression or Athletic Feat?

By Morgan Bernard Originally Published in TrooRa Magazine. Paris 2024 Surfing, Skating, Climbing, And Other Fringe Action Sports Take Center Stage At The Paris Olympics Once considered more counterculture than sport, surfing, skateboarding, rock climbing, and breakdancing are now Olympic sports, with athletes competing in this year’s Paris Olympics. Surfing, skateboarding, and climbing made their […]

Lords of the Kelp

I’ve spent much of my adult life on far-flung surf trips to places like Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, and Peru. But since moving to Washington a year- and-a-half ago, I’ve become obsessed with solving the unique mysteries of my backyard’s rugged coastline. With chilly water year-round and a plethora of terrifying marine critters, surfing here isn’t a Type-I trip to the beach like many of the classic places I’ve ridden waves.

Surf vlog Icon Jamie O’Brien is switching Directions

Featured in the Inertia The man with a thousand plans. Pat Nolan//Red Bull Content Pool When you see Jamie O’Brien strutting down the beach towards maxing out Pipeline, wearing a self-branded speedo and lugging a soft-top under his arm, you’re probably not thinking, “there goes surfing’s greatest serial entrepreneur.” Jamie, however, is just that. Besides […]

Ever heard of a 7ft wave? A Look at the mysterious world of surf height

Featured in the Inertia Just a hair over six feet? Photo: Carlos Manich//Unsplash One hot summer day, I was sharing stories from a fun session at a remote left in Southeast Asia. The wave breaks into a serene, crescent-shaped cove littered with urchins resting below the surface of the postcard-worthy turquoise water. Midway through my description, […]

Living the dream The often harsh reality of running a surf camp abroad

Featured in the Inertia Early mornings and sleepless nights. Reality at Amaru. Photo: Morgan Bernard We bounced along the dirt road on our way south after a day on the boat exploring northern river mouth waves. The surf was well overhead and the sun unrelenting. We had six people packed in the car, and no one […]

The Rise of the Intermediate Surfer: Observations From a Pandemic-Driven Lineup

Featured in The Inertia The surf remains the same but the surfers, well….there’s a lot more of ’em. Photo: Silas Baisch//Unsplash Two years ago, disease spread around the globe, and much of the population retreated to the confines of homes and humble apartments. For those of us stuck in the concrete trappings of modern cities, the […]