Nonstop, never-ending, most consistent season in recent memory…
These are the rumblings that have been rolling out of the North Shore this winter, and specifically Pipeline, as there’s been swell-after-swell, practically entire months with everyday waves.
And still, well into March, the bender rages on…and almost too big.
Koa Rothman, North Shore native and annual at Pipeline heavy, gave it a go recently during a late-season pulse, and yeah, it turned out to be a little too much to handle. Even for Koa. Here’s the rundown:
“I was playing cat-and-mouse the whole time. Sets were coming in, I was duck-diving all over the place, it was hard to get into position, crazy wash-throughs were rolling in. I don’t know. It wants to be good, but I think it’s just a little bit too big. It’s so gnarly out there. So gnarly.”
Already, it’s been a helluva season for Koa. Back in January, he took home two top honors at the Da Hui backdoor Shootout – the individual winner of the team-based event, and the single best ride – which earned him $55,000. Conditions were about as good as it gets; not bad for a day in the “office.”
Related: Koa Rothman Surfs $55k “Wave of My Life” (Watch)
And before that, also during the event, things were a little hairier.
“This is as gnarly as Pipe can get,” he said while watching the opening heats of the event from the safety of the sand. “Hands down. Gnarliest it can get. That was one of the heaviest waves I’ve seen all season. That didn’t look like normal Pipe. That was Jamie [O’Brien], the best Pipe surfer of all-time, pulling out of that wave. I honestly didn’t even want to see him go. But it was a beautiful Pipe wave. Honestly, some of the best Pipe waves I’ve ever seen.”
Two months later, it’s still heavy, still gnarly. And there’s more on the way.
