{"id":19176,"date":"2020-05-06T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ripcurl.com.vn\/comfortably-numb\/"},"modified":"2020-05-06T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-06T03:00:00","slug":"comfortably-numb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ripcurl.com.vn\/comfortably-numb\/","title":{"rendered":"The Search: Comfortably Numb"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/uxnvI47HBhg\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2><strong>Mick Fanning and Mason Ho find cold waves and clarity in the frozen north.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h4>Snap-crackle-crackle-pop.<\/h4>\n<p>The sound of the fire echoes off the ice chunks as Mick Fanning and Mason Ho \u2014wetsuited and booted \u2014 warm their hands over the flames. A new swell is coming soon, they\u2019re almost sure of it. They wait.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need that big chunk to go so we can get a west swell,\u201d Mason says, pointing straight ahead. \u201cI want one of those lefts so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou reckon those last couple of easts brought in too much ice?\u201d asks Mick. The water just off shore is a minefield of microwave-sized ice cubes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe,\u201d Mason says. \u201cBut we gotta go no matter what. How often will we get a chance to do this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A half-mile in front of them, a 500-foot glacier rises from a calm bay like The Wall from Game Of Thrones. Mick and Mason came here yesterday when the surf went flat, a touristic detour in an area that can\u2019t seem to shake the ice age. But when a chunk of ice the size of a city block fell and created a single-serve 10-foot swell, which then morphed into three perfect lefts, there was no choice but to return today to try and ride it.<\/p>\n<p>Mick sprays lighter fluid on the flames. The fire sizzles.<\/p>\n<p>Crackle-crackle-crackle. Crackle-snap-snap. Snap-pop-pop.\u2026BOOOOOM.<\/p>\n<p>They jolt upright and turn toward the glacier. A refrigerator-sized chunk of ice falls into the water. Then a Ford F-350. Then a studio apartment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere we goooo!\u201d Mick yells as a 4br, 3b with walk-in closets detaches from the glacier. By the time the sound of the collision reaches them they\u2019re already sprinting toward the water, zig-zagging between rocks and sliding over icebergs like cops on a car hood. Photographers rush to set up tripods and attach lenses. Mick and Mason stutter-step up the sandbar, trying to figure out where to go. Everyone\u2019s scrambling, yelling. They jump in the water and paddle toward the glacier, water drawing off the shoreline like it\u2019s being sucked from a straw. Chunks of ice bounce off their boards. They weren\u2019t searching for a glacier wave \u2014 neither of them knew something like this even existed \u2014 but here they are, and here it comes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>This trip came at an ideal time for Mick.<\/strong> After a rollercoaster 2015 that included contest wins, a shark attack, a marital separation and the death of his brother amidst a world title race, he figured he had met his drama limit for the decade, and opted to take 2016 off. To travel for pleasure. To clear his head. To figure out if competition is still his passion, or if trips like this should make up the balance of his career. And so, after competing at Snapper and Bells \u2014 while his peers made the short flight from Melbourne to Perth to chase points in Margaret River \u2014 Mick went north, to chase perspective.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We\u2019re trying to explore 34,000 miles of coastline at 8mph,\u201d Captain Mike explains as we board his boat, a 60-foot fishing vessel retrofitted for surf exploration. \u201cI don\u2019t know the math on that, but I\u2019m guessing it\u2019d take more than a lifetime to give it the full search.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A lifetime? We\u2019ve got a week. Let\u2019s see what we can do. Scott \u2014 first mate, photographer and drone pilot \u2014 gives us a tour of our new home. Bags and bodies in the bunks below. Boards and beers up top. Survival suits are here. Earmuffs are here. Don\u2019t fall in there.<\/p>\n<p>Everywhere: Beauty.<\/p>\n<p>Nowhere: Cell service, WiFi, TV, bullshit.<\/p>\n<p>As we motor out of the bay, Mick wears a pensive expression as he takes in the grandiose surroundings. Mountains rise 5,000 feet from the sea. One-ton sea lions swim near the boat. The bald eagles, circling in the thermals along the cliffs, have wingspans bigger than Mason Ho.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s like going through nature\u2019s art gallery,\u201d Mick says, enjoying every piece. Mason is a bit more boisterous in voicing his approval. \u201cHow f\u2013king sick is this???!!!\u201d he says as he pans his phone across the mountain range, \u201cCHEEEEE-HOOOOO!\u201d He swipes the screen a few times and holds the phone out to replay his words filtered through a high-pitched chipmunk voice. He laughs, and then everyone laughs, because Mason\u2019s laughter is as contagious as the common cold.<\/p>\n<p>Everything is bigger here \u2014 the mountains, the beaches, the trees \u2014 and in their shadows, the waves look unrideable. Ankle-high slop on a rocky shore. Still, it\u2019s been a lot of traveling and Mick and Mason are anxious to test the waters. Mike and Scott said the water was in the low 40s, but with no point of reference, how cold is that, really?<\/p>\n<p>They both put on All The Rubber They Got \u2014 a 5:3:3 Flashbomb with a built-in hood, 5mm gloves and boots \u2014 and jump in from the top deck. Since Mason is coming from Hawaii and is prone to theatrical reactions to most things in life, we expect some comedy after his first plunge. But when he bobs to the surface, he looks relieved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not bad at all,\u201d he says. \u201cJust cold on your face.\u201d Mick is equally unphased, and they paddle toward shore with purpose.<\/p>\n<p>The surf is not ankle-high. It\u2019s headhigh and rippable. And once they find their feet in the rock-hard wax, they might as well be surfing playful D-Bah or Rockies. Between waves, they map out perfect snowboard lines in the mountains, look for eagles in the trees and huddle close to each other when a curious stellar sea lion swims up and stares at them with its black, bulging eyes. Everything is bigger here \u2014 except them. Their presence in this imposing place is trivial, and the sheer scale of their surroundings makes them feel small, vulnerable and very much alive.<\/p>\n<p>Boat life is slow life. Eating because you\u2019re bored slow. Two naps a day slow. Coffee after 11 and beer before 4 slow. Eight mph slow. And when you go half the speed, you notice twice as much. Here are a few of our observations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Any story Mason offers is a story you should accept<\/li>\n<li>Poptarts cure seasickness<\/li>\n<li>When you pee overboard at night, the ocean glows with bioluminescence<\/li>\n<li>The locals \u2014 Mike and Scott \u2014 are tougher than you. At 60 years old, Mike is typically the first one in, last one out. Mid-trip, Scott went over the falls and broke his leg on a rock. He didn\u2019t fuss. Just popped a couple of ibuprofen and kept filming Mason and Mick. We dropped him off in town the next day, and he went into surgery that evening.<\/li>\n<li>Those white dots below the snowline are goats<\/li>\n<li>Those white dots above the snowline are also goats. Or snow.<\/li>\n<li>Those white dots in trees are bald eagles.<\/li>\n<li>The bald eagle in the distance might just be a seagull (\u201cwhite eagle\u201d) or crow (\u201cblack eagle\u201d)<\/li>\n<li>When the boat\u2019s cookbook includes items like \u201cRoasted grizzly bear,\u201d \u201cSea Lion Stew\u201d and \u201cBBQ Whale\u201d you don\u2019t ask what\u2019s for dinner, you just eat<\/li>\n<li>When conditions allow you to surf, you surf, because the conditions are about to change<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>A Conversation While Suiting Up For The Best Session of the Trip<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mick:<\/strong> Look at that! Look at that section!<br \/><strong>Mason:<\/strong> Brah, but that\u2019s not even close to the one I seen earlier. <strong>Mick:<\/strong> Really? Mason: I swear I saw one that was like an eight-foot, ten-second barrel! It was wide, like Backdoor. <strong>Mick:<\/strong> Well, let\u2019s do it. <strong>Mason:<\/strong> Brah, what do I do? Do I bust out the 6\u20193\u201d? <strong>Mick [waxing board]:<\/strong> This is just like rubbing ice cubes on my board, huh? [jumps in the water] <strong>Mason[to himself]:<\/strong>Do I need the 6\u20193\u201d? <strong>Mike [coming out of the wheelhouse]:<\/strong> You just gonna talk about it Mason or you gonna go surf? <strong>Mason:<\/strong>Oh, man, I knew I liked you. You remind me of my dad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>When he reaches the rocky outcropping on his 6\u20193\u201d, Mason realizes that it had looked more manageable from the boat. The tide is high and the interval is short and waves are breaking dangerously close to the rocks. But because Mason approaches rocks the way gymnasts approach a foam pit, he sits out the back and waits for his \u201cBackdoor wave.\u201d He sees a goat on the cliff\u2019s edge. (\u201cHow the f\u2013k did it get up there?\u201d) He waits. An eagle circles above him. He waits. After about 20 minutes, his wave appears. He is too deep, but puts his head down and scratches into it anyway, soul arching at the bottom and pulling into a square tube 30 feet from the rocks. It closes out. He gets pounded. He surfaces unscathed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cSurfing isn\u2019t my main priority here\u2026 My main priority is just exploring a land that I don\u2019t know much about.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrah,\u201d he says with wide eyes as he paddles back out. \u201cIf you could have seen what I seen in that barrel! Rocks were just popping up while I was in it! I swear it felt like the same cubic liters as Backdoor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After a few more attempts and losing a fin to a rock that just \u201cpopped up,\u201d he decides to join Mick, who\u2019s surfing with Mike on the rippable section down the point. As Mason nears the lineup, Mick catches an overhead set and sends fans of spray out the back at regular intervals \u2014 like the wave\u2019s breathing. Nevermind the rubber, for the next few hours, Mick reminds everyone that his surfing is as precise as ever. Yes, there are those splinter-sharp turns that shaped his career, but there\u2019s also an undeniable looseness in his approach. Playful alley-oops, big straight airs and bigger smiles. And while there are no judges, he\u2019s hammering out 8s and 9s like there\u2019s a world title on the line. Which, of course, there isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSurfing isn\u2019t my main priority here,\u201d Mick will say later, wearing a \u201cMad Bomber\u201d hat that makes him look more like a beaver trapper than a surfer. \u201cMy main priority is just exploring a land that I don\u2019t know much about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Snap-pop-pop.\u2026BOOOOOM.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The glacial swell approaches at a non-glacial pace and Mick and Mason pick their lineup like eenie-meenie-minnie-moe. They have no clue. They\u2019ve never surfed here before, nobody has, so they\u2019re just guessing. But they have their shortboards on top of SUPs, hoping the vessel\u2019s extra paddle power will make up for any lineup miscalculation.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t. Sitting too far down the sandbar, they watch helplessly as a chesthigh left reels perfectly down the top of the point.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, no, no!\u201d Mason yells as he sprint paddles toward the wave. Mick concedes defeat and watches it peel, mouth agape. While he missed the biggest, best wave, Mason\u2019s tenacity gets him to the tail end of the set\u2019s last wave. He dismounts the SUP, grabs his shortboard and jumps into the wave. He has time for one pump and a hurried lipper before the wave dies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCoolest one-footer I\u2019ve caught in my life,\u201d he says, simultaneously ecstatic and dissatisfied. He knows how good this wave can be. And for a guy who loves novelty waves, this is the Holy Grail. \u201cWe gotta get ready for the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Snap-crackle-crackle-pop.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The next one comes, a combo swell powered by simultaneous calvings on each side of the glacier. Mick chases the right up the beach, but the ice is too dense for him to reach it. Mason paddles straight out and stands atop a small \u2018berg and when the wave comes, he acid drops into it backwards, clipping an ice cube on the landing and busting his middle fin out. \u201cNext one,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p><em>Crackle-crackle-pop.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>There are false alarms. Huge calvings occur and they run to the shore to meet a wave that\u2019s not there, either because the chunk didn\u2019t fall directly into water or a small peninsula blocks the swell. It\u2019s got the addictive uncertainty that comes with surfing in our everyday lives, but they\u2019re learning it on the fly, surrounded by glaciers and ice bergs, laughing their heads off at the absurdity of it all. On the other side of the world, the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro just went on hold.<\/p>\n<p><em>Crackle-crackle-crackle.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>A long period east swell gives them their final shot at the glacier wave. Mick has abandoned all hope of catching a wave on a shortboard, and paddles through the ice on a finless SUP. Mason, once again, summits an iceberg. When the first wave comes he seamlessly transfers from the iceberg, onto the SUP, and then onto his shortboard before olleying over an ice block. He rolls up onto the beach in a pile of ice and laughter. \u201cThe thrill is back!\u201d he says, turning around in time to see Mick catch the next wave and ride it up onto the beach. Mason is there to greet him with a celebratory hug.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s it,\u201d Mick says, elated but exhausted. \u201cWe did it. We\u2019re done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The east swell brought in even more ice into the area and so yes, they are done, and paddle back to the boat battered from countless collisions with the ice. Still, Mason is almost tortured \u2014 he wants more. \u201cI feel like this is the new Search,\u201d he says. \u201cThis was just a little taste. I\u2019m wanna come back and just surf the glacier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As they raise the anchor and begin their return toward to civilization, Mick watches the glacier snake its way from the bay and disappear into the mountains. In a thousand years, the last piece of ice visible in the distance will fall into this water and make a wave and him and Mason will be long gone. Contests? They seem pretty silly right about now. \u201cThis place makes you feel so insignificant,\u201d he says, taking a sip of his beer. \u201cIt\u2019s good\u2026You feel at peace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the evening before their departure, they drink whiskey at a bar called The Pit. It\u2019s the type of place that\u2019s open till 6am, allows smoking and sells shirts that say, \u201cI got pitfaced at The Pit Bar.\u201d A bit of local ambiance to celebrate a once-in-a-lifetime trip.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis was so good for me,\u201d Mick says, reflecting the way you do after a few drinks with old friends and new. \u201cTo be in nature and not have a fixed schedule, cell reception or Internet. It was just what I needed \u2014 to get off the grid and disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And, although they are now technically back in civilization, Mick is still invisible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, what do you do?\u201d asks Brendan, the affable garbage man sitting next to Mick at the bar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI surf,\u201d Mick replies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, but what\u2019s your job?\u201d he presses. \u201cBecause why would anyone pay you to surf?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mick laughs. \u201cMate, I\u2019ve been asking myself that for 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mick Fanning and Mason Ho find cold waves and clarity in the frozen north. Snap-crackle-crackle-pop. The sound of the fire echoes off the ice chunks as Mick Fanning and Mason Ho \u2014wetsuited and booted <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":19177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[590],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-search"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ripcurl.com.vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ripcurl.com.vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ripcurl.com.vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ripcurl.com.vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ripcurl.com.vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ripcurl.com.vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ripcurl.com.vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ripcurl.com.vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ripcurl.com.vn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}