Backdoor

Surf Guide

Backdoor was somewhat ignored during Pipeline's first golden days in the 1970s. It makes you wonder how many heaving barrels roared right off the peak before everyone kind of clicked on it. The wave relies on a slight breaking up of swell lines from the northwest and a thin channel between the Pipe reef and Off-The-Wall. The broken swell allows a tapering wall, which hits square on the shallowest part of first reef and creates an intense, deep tube. Further inside, the reef gets shallower and actually pokes itself above the waterline here and there; dealing properly with the finish of a ride is very important. This is even more the case on larger days, when the unwary surfer might come out of the tube, start paddling, and be faced with a full-on major closeout set -- one of the North Shore's scariest moments.