Visit the full event page for more info. Photo: Tony Heff/Freesurf

“It was some of the most pristine conditions at Pipeline since last December,” Mason Ho said. “I remember showing up in the morning and it was a solid eight-foot with perfect winds. I was feeling a little weird but once the sun came out, I just had a feeling that shit was going to go down! All the butterflies went away and I just got so psyched out of my mind.” Photo: Tron/Freesurf, Video: Graeme Brunt

“It was one of the coolest drops I’ve had out there in my life,” Mason Ho said, of this perfect-10 in the Backdoor Shootout. “It was crazy. I tried to shoot through it fast. I was low and tight because I knew the vacuum was going to suck me back. The lip went over me, held me back for a little and then blew me out. The spit tried to flip my 6'9" upside down…which is why I was holding the rail. A lot of guys are trying to let go of the rail lately. But my dad tells me every day to hold the rail tight.” Photo: Marote, Video: Rory Pringle

Bruce Irons nailed the third perfect-10 of the Shootout’s opening day with this throaty Backdoor bomb. Photo: Laserwolf, Video: Sebastian Rojas

“It was ideal Pipeline,” Jamie O’Brien said, scoring the Shootout’s first perfect-10 of the morning. “Six- to eight-feet…fun, gnarly, easy at times and perfect offshore winds. The best day of the winter so far.” Photo: Latronic/Freesurf, Video: Sebastian Rojas

There are always sneaky windows out at Pipeline and Backdoor somewhere in between the Shootout and the Volcom Pipe Pro. And Kelly Slater usually times them perfectly. Here’s the result. Video: Daniel Balbuena

John John is one of a handful of guys who can make an average day at Pipe look outstanding. While this wasn’t exactly a remarkable swell, his tuberiding bravado was enough to make this wave one of January’s best. Video: Jaker Walsh

“That was just a beautiful evening — the swell was on the rise,” Aamion Goodwin said. “[Danny] Fuller and I paddled out from Off-the-Wall and slipped right out without even duckdiving. It was one of those things were the timing was just perfect because right when I got over to Pipe, that wave came within the first 10 minutes and I was in the perfect spot. I was behind it…which is a dream scenario. And everything flowed really nicely from there.” Photo: Heff/Freesurf, Video: Luiza Campos

This was from the warm-up session the day before the start of the Volcom Pipe Pro. Being a three-time winner and obvious favorite, it was fairly clear from the get-go that John John would ultimately take his fourth Pipe Pro victory. Photo: Jon Carter, Video: Nuno Dias

"I told Uncle Mike to drop in on me if he saw me going on a wave and that I wanted to get a shot of him," Healey said. "Sure enough, the opportunity presented itself. I biffed the framing, though. Next time! That was an amazing moment though, and probably will be one of my most memorable Pipe waves I've ever had." (Worth noting: this is officially the first Wave of the Winter entry with two riders.) Photo: Sebastian Rojas, Video: Jaker Walsh