“It’s warmer in the water,” said Markus Barsch, 21, a tree trimmer from Ashland, Wis., and one of a dozen surfers who had shown up to shred on a 20-degree day...

December 15, 2008 saw epic conditions on the North Shore. Not that North Shore—the North Shore of Lake Superior, just north of Duluth, Minnesota. Photos, video, and interview...