Ten Thousand Peaks seasonal overview
Best Surf Season (October - February)
Ten Thousand Peaks faces due west into the Indian Ocean and catches its most user-friendly surf once the Northeast Monsoon takes over the wind machine. From October through February, offshore flow out of the NE to ESE quadrant cleans up a steady supply of SW to WNW swell, with average heights holding in the 2-3ft (0.6-0.9m) range and periods in the 9-11 second bracket. October and November bring the longest-period energy, while December through February offer the highest percentage of glassy mornings. This is the time to be in the water: smaller, but perfectly shaped and dramatically more consistent than the blown-out summer months.
Fair Surf Season (March - May)
As the sun climbs higher and the continental heating kicks in, the offshore trade wind starts to lose its grip. March still delivers clean westerly swell on a third of the days, but by April and May the wind swings more often into the west and southwest, chopping up what would otherwise be fun 2-4ft (0.6-1.2m) waves. The Indian Ocean is becoming more active as pre-monsoon cyclogenesis ramps up, so there is size on offer - but you have to hunt hard for the early-morning windows before the Southwest Monsoon shuts the door.
Low Surf Season (June - September)
The Southwest Monsoon is the dominant weather feature of the northern Indian Ocean, and it turns Ten Thousand Peaks into a wind-blown mess. Average swell heights jump to 4-7ft (1.2-2.1m), sometimes bigger, but the wind rose is controlled by relentless WSW and W onshores that flatten the surface and shorten the pitching waves. Rainfall increases dramatically as the monsoon trough sets up, and surf quality drops even though the raw power in the water is at its annual peak. Only in September, as the monsoon begins to retreat, do the first signs of clean offshore flow reappear.