Buzzed: We Asked Mason Ho To Talk Us Through That One Pit He’ll Never Forget
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“Desert Point is one of my favourite places to go surfing in the world. I remember five years ago sitting at home in summertime with my friends Rory Pringle and Cheeseburger with nothing to do but make little web videos and stuff. We were just getting into the whole film thing and I’d been to Deserts once before so I figured that could be a really fun, easy place to bag some clips.
It was both Rory and Burger’s first times over to Deserts and they were so psyched. What made this trip so funny was the fact I’d been hyping it up to them so hard, then we show up and it was way too big and windy for it. Burger and I were all pumped up anyway and Rory wanted to get clips so we paddled out by ourselves. Nobody really surfs it at that size. It was so big I’m not even sure what the tide was doing but there was a lot of water moving, and some big wash throughs. When Deserts gets to that size you can ride it on all tides and it’s got so many moods and different sections. I do remember walking out though, so it must have been pretty low. The current gets kinda gnarly on low too, because it sucks you out the back so fast you can easily end up on a fishing boat out at sea.
On the windy days you want to be patient too because there’re heaps of chandelier sections and it’s easy to get lured into a closeout. I just remember Burger was freaking because even with the wind those lefthanders are amazing to watch in person, whether it’s sectioning or not, you’re just like “Oh. My. Gosh!” I didn’t expect much, but I actually got one that was super fun, and I still remember it perfectly.
I took off on a big one, way outside all by myself. Burger went the one before so I knew he was somewhere in there. I remember riding the wave, doing a couple of little top turns and then all of a sudden I hit the spot where it starts to drain and went to do a couple of kickstalls to slow down, but I was going too fast, way out in front of the barrel. On a normal wave one stall is enough to get in there, but this wave let me do like five or six like “ONE! TWO! THREE! VOOOOM! VOOOOM! VOOOOM! By the fourth one I was going zero miles per hour. I might have done a couple too many but I just wanted to sneak in one more like “VOOOOM!” And it got me waaaay back in the barrel. Deserts is sick for that because you can make a couple of mistakes and somehow still come out, that’s why I love that place so much. The lip was trying to crumble on me but somehow it stayed open enough to see right through it and get the full vision. It was just a good one that hit the shelf right and did the full race off.
So I was a little deep and started pumping, pumping, pumping and slipped on my butt mid barrel! I was going so fast I kinda thought “there’s still room, just hold on!” Sometimes the speed of the wave is enough to push you out, and that’s what happened. I raced halfway down the reef on my arse and it let me go. I stood back up and did a little turn and got out of there. I figured it was a full make, because surfing on your feet all the time is boring. I actually claimed it too with the full cheesy claim. Not even a cool claim, just a real corny one.
The feeling afterwards? Ohhh my gosh, heck yeah! You know that feeling when you know you’re going to score and then there’s a buzz after that? This time it was so unexpected to somehow end up with some really good rides, and same for Burger too. I was psyching off my friend’s rides and surfing my favourite wave with just me and him. Rory got the clip of me pulling in on my butt, it’s somewhere in the hard drive. I wasn’t the longest barrel of my life or anything but I remember it was such a cool little feeling with the kickstalls. Technically, it’s not the sickest barrel I’ve ever had but easily one of the funnest. Deserts has played a big part in practicing and learning different styles of backhand tuberiding a lot, and that one’s a nice memory to dust off.” – Mason Ho
