Hellgate Graduates Surf Brennan’s Wave In Caps And Gowns

High school seniors around the world almost always stick to a small set of classic graduation celebration routines: holding parties, gathering for family dinners, and posing awkwardly for formal group photos.

Young people in most cities only crowd together to take pictures under school name plaques, next to their school’s football field, or in front of old brick walls in the city center. But three graduates from Hellgate High School in Missoula had a different idea.

Right after receiving their diplomas, instead of heading straight to a graduation party, they put on their graduation caps and gowns and went surfing at Brennan’s Wave on the Clark Fork River in downtown Missoula.

Shout out to ABC Fox Montana for capturing what could be the most quintessentially Montanan thing I have seen all year. Hold on to your caps.

For those not familiar with downtown Missoula, Brennan’s Wave is an artificial wave for river surfing on the Clark Fork River.

Every summer, the site is packed with surfers, kayakers, paddleboarders, and onlookers. Most ordinary people struggle to stay standing on this wave, yet these three teens decided to take on the challenge while wearing their bulky formal graduation gear. They are not wasting any time kicking off Summer here in western Montana.

How do surfers say it? That is pretty GNARLY!

One day, you're riding your horse to school and making the principal take care of it all day, the next, you are catching a wave after snagging your diploma. It sure is pretty cool growing up as a Montana kid.