The Conversation: Chuck Patterson Skis Jaws

Feb. 14, 2011— -- Skis? Check.

Boots? Check.

Polls? Check.

Snow? How about waves, instead?

The surfer and downhill skier Chuck Patterson has combined two of his favorite activities into one remarkable new sport -- wave skiing.

Remarkable video of Patterson skiing monster waves in Hawaii is now making the rounds online, with Patterson carving down the water as if he were on a snow.

"The skis that we have are custom made," Patterson told ABC's John Berman in today's Conversation. "We put ski bindings on there, and then we also use ski boots. You need the real stiffness of boots and the bindings to be able to torque these turns a little more freely."

Patterson said that he and some friends have been working on the concept for a couple of years, hoping to test what started as little more than a crazy dream. They designed the specialized equipment and developed the technique, with a jet ski required to pull Patterson into the wave before he starts "downhill."

"The important thing with wave skiing is that you have to keep yourself in the steepest section of the wave," Patterson said. "It's amazing how similar it is to regular skiing. The carving, the angulating is exactly the same."

While Patterson says wave skiing is a lot of fun, he says he doubts that his experiment will ever go mainstream because it requires a lot of cumbersome equipment and other support. Still, he says, he's always trying to push the boundaries of extreme sports.

"It separates you from the normal athlete out there when you're constantly innovating, and I think that's really important," Patterson said.

Click here to see more "Conversation" videos from ABC World News.