We just came across this rad picture from French photographer Tristan Shu of his mate Charles Navillod. There’s no Photoshop trickery involved here. Charles is riding an actual surfboard (with leash, wetsuit, the lot) on Tignes’ early season snow.

We’ve seen surf-inspired snowboards before. Austrian rider Wolle Nyvelt has long been a fan of bindingless, surfboard shaped sticks, making his own under the name  Ästhetiker Shape Movement (ÄSMO). These babies have been popping up in Absinthe films since 2006.

So, unusual snowboard shapes are nothing new, but actually riding a real surfboard in a wetsuit on snow is a whole different ball game. You can watch their riding attempts below in this comedy two-minute edit.

He doesn’t exactly get off to a cracking start. Damn, it must be hard riding a surfboard with no edge or traction whatsoever! But by the end, he’s actually starting to nail it. Best results? Head straight down the fall line. Amazing effort Charles – showing the true meaning of the phrase surf le neige!