Walker's Pipe Pix
DogMan's LinksWalker's Pipe Pix
The least secret spot and the most famous wave in the world.
Quick. What's the best-known surf break on the planet? Did you answer Banzai Pipeline? I thought you would. Received an email surprise last week from Walker Lewis, Northern California surfer, PWR reader, and visitor to Oahu. Illustrating the email were a sample of Pipe pix Walker snapped the weekend of March 1.
You brave enough to put yourself here? 
Care to outrace this falling lip? Stakes are high for those that loose! 
Race for the shoulder, probably too late to pull in. Notice the pack on the right. From Update to Feature
These photos are awesome; had to use them in DogMan Chronicles. First thought was a super Sunday update for March 9. Emailed Walker about the idea and he happily sent even more pix from the same sess.
At that point, the second-hand stoke went ballistic! Always willing to change plans for the right swell and the right pix, decided to make a full-on weekly feature from Walker's emails and pix. Here's the result, hope you're stoke expands.
At least he didn't break an arm or leg! Look close, I think that's blood running down his bicep. 
A sizeable flair on this wave, pull in! 
DogMan could almost ride this one himself. "Only" Double O or so. Da Place It Is
Ehukai Beach Park is the "real" name, but we all know it as Pipeline, or simply Pipe. The flat reef near the shore is perfectly shaped to turn west and north west swells into beauty waves. But this beauty is also a beast, as the pic of b snapped board proves.
It wasn't until the '60's that Pipe began to emerge as the surf spot we all know today. Many sources credit Phil Edwards as the first successful Pipe rider. Over the years Greg Noll, Gerry Lopez, Derek Ho, and Kelley Slater are just a few of the standout surfers to make their mark at Pipeline.
Backdoor tube ride, almost completely covered. 
Sizeable wave for this surfer who is digging hard. 
Classic tube ride. But It's Not For Every Surfer
Ever surfed Pipe? I never have and most likely never will. Similar to other world-renowned spots like Mavericks, I have no desire and little likelyhood of surfing the break. I suspect this is true for most PWR readers. I just am not good enough to surf Pipe. I get plenty of adrenaline and danger surfing other, lower-echelon surf spots. Breaking into the lineup at Pipe is itself a difficult and dangerous task. One needs a buddy, mentor, or sponsor to get into the hierarchy. Or you need to be born in Oahu and grow up feeding on North Shore surf. For those folks Pipe is a part of a surfing progression. For a Santa Cruz haole not named Flea or Adam or RatBoy, surfing Pipe ain't gonna happen.
Power carve on the shoulder, back into the pit. 
Another picture perfect race under a crashing lip. 
A gnarly wall on this wave. Is It For Walker?
I asked WL if he surfed this swell at Pipe. Here's his answer:
"Did I get some of these for myself? Not exactly... I wouldn't call myself a Pipe specialist. The swell peaked on Saturday morning and I had great sessions at Sunset Beach on Friday night and Haleiwa on Saturday morning.
"Grabbed a sandwich at Foodland and watched Pipe at noon for about 45 minutes from the steps near the Volcom house. It was looking really good so I grabbed my point and shoot digital camera and took some photos. This was actually just a weekend getaway thanks to the heavily discounted airfares that are available right now.
"The swell dropped significantly throughout the day on Sunday so I brought out the longboard for great sessions at Sunset Beach. Took the red eye home and went straight to work on Monday morning."
Wow! DM took the redeye home from Maui and went straight home to bed! WL is an iron man for sure!
Racing out the backdoor. Speed will do it every time. 
Hard to see, but there's a boogie rider in the pit. Forget the sponge, check the wave behind this one!!! 
Many make the attempt, only one makes the drop. Picture Submissions to DMC
My thanx to Walker for sharing the stoke and the pix with all of us. These are the best set of surf photos I've received from a DMC reader. If you have some stoke-filled surf pix that you think are worth sharing on PWR, email them to me and I'll consider putting together a column with them. Please send pix that are less than 100K Bytes each, and attach two or three of the best to an email. I'll take a look and get back to you about sending more if I think I can use them.
For now, enjoy the stoke of Pipe.
Two on a wave. 
Duke Welcomes You to the Magic Kingdom.
CU Out There,
DogMan
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