Behind the Scenes at a Historic Vans Pipe Masters on Hawaii’s North Shore

Growing up in the ancient mountains of New York State, surfing was always foreign to me. Just out of reach. Instead, snowboarding provided a tangible connection to nature, to friends, and to history. Knowing where the thing you love comes from is important, whether consciously recognized or not. Yet on a recent visit to Southern Vermont—the birthplace of snowboarding—I found myself wandering an ersatz Swiss village at the base of the first ski resort to allow snowboarding wondering where the history had gone. How will the next generation (or current, for that matter) know that these hills shaped the earliest snowboard prototypes and hosted some of the most influential tricks and contests in history? The answer, as it all too often does, lies in corporate profit—a Starbucks at the base area makes more than a museum ever will…

Fast forward (or rewind) a few months and I find myself 5,000 miles away with toes in the sand on the North Shore of Oahu. Hallowed ground for surfing. Only this time, everyone knows it. And though there’s no shortage of multi-million dollar homes dotting the shoreline, the beach, the waves, and the bike path are all public—and all steeped in surfing history. To celebrate the community, the history, and one of the most iconic (and dangerous) waves in the world, each December the best surfers from around the world gather to celebrate surf history and compete in the Vans Pipe Masters.

Source: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/vans-pipe-masters-2024-photos