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Mount Augustine Peak 34.6

#5100 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇺🇸 United States of America · Alaska · near Newhalen

Wind is the enemy here, peaks in October, thick rubber.

Beginner friendlyRemoteBeginner
Surf score34.6 /100
Surfable days66% of the year
Clean days0% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell1% period 11 s+
Typical size0.8 m 2.7 ft median
Water6°C a 6/5 with boots, gloves and hood

Best time to surf Mount Augustine Peak

The best time to surf Mount Augustine Peak is October, December. It rarely works. In October the water sits around 9°C, so pack a 6/5 with boots, gloves and hood, and the typical wave is 1.0 m. The nearest airport is ADQ (192 km) and the nearest town is Newhalen (92 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan92%0%1.5 m1°C6/5
Feb86%0%1.2 m1°C6/5
Mar75%0%0.9 m0°C6/5
Apr65%0%0.8 m1°C6/5
May55%0%0.7 m5°C6/5
Jun29%0%0.5 m9°C6/5
Jul37%0%0.5 m11°C5/4
Aug36%0%0.5 m12°C5/4
Sep53%0%0.7 m11°C5/4
Oct82%1%1.0 m9°C6/5
Nov84%0%1.2 m6°C6/5
Dec91%1%1.5 m3°C6/5

What is under Mount Augustine Peak

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor falls away into open ocean, 1,466 m, deep right up to the door, so swell arrives with its energy intact.

Depth 8 km out1466 m
Depth 4 km out803 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 34.6

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
7.9
Best days 22.4%
10.0
Clean days 18.4%
0.0
Consistency 10.2%
7.6
Season spread 4.1%
3.0
Water comfort 6.1%
0.0
Access 4.1%
1.4

The detail

Faces 30° with 44% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 38% of days. Mean peak period 6.2 s. Days over 3 m: 2%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.1 m, with a peak period of 8 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 49%. Months that work: 9 of 12. Coordinates 59.406, -153.387 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,700/ month
typically €1,500 – €1,900
Rent, one bedroom€892
Groceries€357
Eating out€204
Getting around€119
Phone + internet€128
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,320/ month
typically €2,920 – €3,710
Somewhere to stay€1,960
Eating out€697
Car, transfers, fuel€450
Data + extras€212
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% below the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for United States of America (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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