John John & Nathan Florence Do Laps at Challenging Pipeline Session

The ensuing 3.5-hour session, condensed for your viewing pleasure above, includes numerous gorgeous waves and horrific-looking wipeouts. As Nathan explains on screen, the wide open barrels were consistently “inhaling” sucking air and surfers into the vortex before exiting spit outward. Sometimes, a surfer comes out with it. Kiron Jabour almost completed “one of the most sought-after waves” in this lineup by nearly connecting a Backdoor right all the way across the reef to Off The Wall. But, like many others, he was inhaled by the foamball. 

Nathan also posted some insight into how the current inside of Backdoor, “a dangerous area with lots of uneven reef,’ can split in two directions, one to Off The Wall and another toward the beach park. This is the same sketchy area he nailed his face on last year, and the memory is not pleasant for him. John’s “two waves in five hours” claim at the end of the session may be slightly exaggerated, but it does illustrate that, at the end of the day, Pipeline is still the boss.