A tidal wave in Sion

“Either I needed to live some place where there’s waves, or I needed to bring waves to Valais. Selfishly, I preferred to find a way to be able to surf at home.” That’s the story behind why Adam Bonvin — who was born in Crans-Montana and fell in love with surfing at age 11 — created Alaïa Bay. It was a crazy pipedream that came to life in May 2021 in Domaine des Iles, Sion, after raising a colossal investment of over 20 million CHF. Since then, the 8,300 m² football-field-sized wave pool generates 300-1,000 waves every hour, which get up to 1.8 m high with help from 46 powerful motors. There are no fewer than 20 different types of waves on the menu, including tubes!

There’s no more than a dozen wave pools like it in the world, one of which is for private use only for surf legend Kelly Slater in Los Angeles. Five of them use the same “Wavegarden Cove” technology, developed in the Basque region of Spain a little over 10 years ago. The one in Alaïa Bay is the first of its kind in mainland Europe, “the second in Europe after Bristol” specifies Adam.

A popular new discipline
This new discipline has lots of potential, even in mountainous Switzerland. “The Swiss are typically very comfortable with board sports because of skiing or snowboarding, so they usually make great beginner surfers,” says Adam, who at 28 years old, has found success in all his entrepreneurial ventures, including Alaïa Chalet — an action sports centre (skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, BMX and more) near Crans-Montana — and the Alaïa Lodge, a sport and lifestyle hub.

According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, surfing, which is already practiced by 45,000 residents, is one of the fastest growing sports in the country. Alaïa Bay’s initial goal of 100,000 sessions per year was more than feasible; in fact, the number of entries doubled in 2022!

“All kinds of people come here, from kids to retirees, but our typical surf customer is someone 35 years and up, who loves to surf but doesn’t have time to practice regularly. Here they can surf without having to save up for a trip.” A big bonus given the current economic crisis.

At Alaïa Bay you can surf from March until mid-November. On any given day, around 8 session levels (of one hour, starting at 109 CHF) are on offer, selected after completing a self-test online, on waves that range from 80 cm to 1.80 m, with the option to surf, longboard. or bodyboard. If you need training, Alaïa Bay offers beginner classes and surf camps. If you need to rent equipment, the in-house surfshop has you covered, with boards, wetsuits, water shoes and even head covers for early on or late in the season when the (unheated) water is only around 10° C.

As reliable as a Swiss watch
“Technically, the surfing we do here is the same as surfing in the ocean,” says Adam enthusiastically, “except that here, we can guarantee you’ll get to surf at least 15 waves an hour. After our opening, I was able to surf 5,000 waves at Alaïa Bay in just a few months. How many decades would it have taken me to achieve those kinds of numbers in nature?” A rhetorical question that Alaïa Bay regulars all already have the answer to: too many! As a result, progress comes quickly. “Our clients are often surprised by how much they improve,” adds Adam.

In the two years since its opening, Alaïa Bay has had its fair share of pros come train at the centre. Here, the technical waves and perfect conditions are guaranteed by the press of a button. “Hawaiian champion Ezekiel Lau insisted on coming in after a day of snowboarding,” recalls Adam. “He loved being able to practice both disciplines. Believe it or not, his girlfriend surfed her first tube here!” Californian legend Rob Machado and Jérémy Florès (the most decorated French surfer of all time) have also surfed at Alaïa Bay. In the meantime, many young Swiss people come to Alaïa Bay regularly to practice. The skills of this new generation of talent are progressing quickly… maybe we’ll even see some pro Swiss surfers out there someday!

Such a large sporting complex could be accused of being environmentally tone deaf, but that’s simply not the case. Adam explains. “Alaïa Bay only consumes 1 KWh per wave on average, no more than a 6-seater chair lift, and it’s powered by local hydroelectricity. Our 13,000 m³ of water is not heated and our carbon footprint is further reduced by the fact that our presence in Switzerland also means people take fewer surf trips to far off places.”

alaiabay.ch