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Renowned big-wave break in Peru, located about 27 miles south of Lima; often compared to Sunset Beach in Hawaii, although the wave at Pico Alto is usually much longer. "The overriding impression from my first ride was speed," Mark Foo of Hawaii wrote in 1987, after riding Pico Alto for the first time. "Sustained speed, maintained for fantastic lengths."

Pico Alto begins to take shape at eight to 10 foot, can hold virtually any size, and has been seen maintaining form at 35 foot, with waves cresting nearly one mile from the dusty rock- and cliff-lined shore. It breaks both left and right, but rights are preferred; the biggest waves break over a half-mile from shore, and rides can last up to three hundred yards. Pico Alto is generally biggest from March to August, and an average year will produce at least 10 days of 15-foot or larger surf. Although Pico Alto occasionally throws out a tube section, the wave is broad-based and sloped, unlike the vertical walls of Hawaii's Waimea Bay or Maverick's in California. Surfers aren't pushed down to the reef after a wipeout at Pico Alto, but are often held underwater for lung-testing periods of time, up to 20 seconds or more, and rolled violently shoreward. Midwinter water temperatures in the Lima area are about 60, while the average daytime air temperature is 65. Gray skies and a light haze can partially obscure the view of Pico Alto from the beach.

Peruvian goofyfooter Joaquin Mirá-Quesada was first to ride here, on June 29, 1965, and he named the break "Pico Alto" (High Peak). Other pioneering Pico Alto surfers include Miguel Plaza and Francisco Aramburu. "The magnificence of the place was overwhelming," Mirá-Quesada said afterwards. I realized we had discovered the best surfing spot in Peru." (Two years later, Mirá-Quesada was killed while surfing at Pipeline in Hawaii.) In 1966, reigning world champion Felipe Pomar, of Lima, wrote "Pico Alto is Better Than Sunset," a short 

 magazine feature that introduced the break to the world outside of Peru.

Pomer, along with big-wave specialist Ivo Hunza and a few other Peruvians, occasionally surfed here over the next 12 years; from 1979 to 1986, as big-wave surfing fell out of fashion, the churning Pico Alto peaks went unridden. In 1987, Lima surfers Titi de Cole, Max and Magoo de la Rosa, Tony Maldi, and veteran Felipe Pomar—all with big-wave experience from Hawaii—"rediscovered" Pico Alto when a 15-foot swell arrived during Easter week. A few days later, as the surf hit 20 foot, the Peruvians were joined by American big-wave riders Mark Foo, James Jones, and Richard Schmidt, along with photographer Robert Beck, who became the first to shoot Pico Alto from the water. The break has since been surfed regularly.

The 1993 Jose Rizo Patron Invitational, named after the contest organizer and won by local surfer Fernando Paraud, was the first surf contest held at Pico Alto. The Billabong Pico Alto has been held annually, waves pending, since 2009.

2009: Greg Long
2010: Jamie Sterling
2011: Peter Mel
2012: Carlos Burle
2013: not held
2014: Makua Rothman
2015: not held

Pico Alto

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

History of Surfing

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