The North Shore surf season runs between November and March, when the majority of Pipeline’s best waves are ridden. But, every so often, a sneaky swell fires Pipe up when nobody (except the locals) are looking, which is exactly what just happened yesterday, when Koa Rothman scored this sketchy first reef Pipe bomb. Whipping around late and beyond vertical, we have no idea how Rothman managed to hold his toe side edge long enough to engage his rail and avoid the guillotine.
“Can’t believe we just scored crazy Pipe at the end of April!,” Rothman writes on Instagram. “Saw my life flash before my eyes on this drop. Very happy I stuck it.”
Yeah, we’d say so. When Rothman says he saw his life flash before his eyes, he’s not kidding. The section of wave where he took off is the shallowest on the entire reef at Pipe, and a fall right there could have ended badly. It’s the same place the worst Pipe injuries (and deaths) have already occurred.
There have been so many crazy drops out at Pipe over the years it’s impossible to pick the best one of all time, but this is certainly in the Top 10.
Stay tuned for the next episode of “This Is Livin'” — we’re pretty sure Rothman is gonna break this one down in a lot more detail for us.
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