Beyond The Wall

By Nate Zoller  |   Photos by Isaac Zoller

After two weeks of pumping surf in Hawaii I would have been content to come home to a flat spell. I hadn’t even checked the forecast for California until I got a text from my brother while I was at the airport in Honolulu. “Did you see the swell for tomorrow? We should go to Baja in the morning!” A quick glance at the buoys and I could see what he was so excited about. There has not been a swell this big with this low of tides in a few winters, which made it an easy call to rally on a few hours’ sleep the next morning.

On the other side of the border we got our first look at the swell. Lines marching from way out to sea, so far away as to make it look small. The beachbreaks were an endless blanket of whitewash and even some of the points were maxing out, but one wave in particular was protected enough to filter the massive swell energy into groomed lines. The first set we saw marched down the point, barreling harder as it ran down the reef until spitting in front of a crowd of onlookers. It was as good as I’ve ever seen it and the best day in the last few years. 

I scrambled down the cliff, over the boulders and into the lineup, hooting as perfect waves peeled past me down the line. I spent hours working my way into better and better waves. The crowd was thick but I knew if I sat outside and wide eventually a set would come my way. About forty minutes from dark big lines started rolling down the point. My friend grabbed the first one and I was pleased to see the second one was bigger and more doubled up. I made the drop, raced down the line and came around the section to see the most beautiful view in surfing; the funneling point break tube. Each spot has its own style barrel and this one has a drainpipe effect, meaning the bigger the wave the better it hits the reef. I went in after that wave and a sense of satisfaction came over me. From Backdoor to Baja in just a few days’ time, not a bad way to spend my winter. 

OUR BAJA ESSENTIALS