Stephanie Gilmore is standing on the beach in Hawaii and her next mission is staring her in the face.
The defending world surfing champion will turn 35 when the new season's window opens at the Billabong Pro Pipeline on Sunday (Monday AEDT).
The intimidating Oahu wave - now a staple of the women's Championship Tour as well as the men's - offers a new test of mental and physical strength for the eight-time World Surf League champion.
A year ago the Australian missed the event, quarantined with COVID-19 as Kelly Slater carved out one of his greatest victories, in jaw-dropping conditions, days shy of his 50th birthday.
"That was one of my more disappointing moments, missing out last year," Gilmore told AAP from Hawaii.
"So it's cool to be back and have another shot.
"Now I've won an eighth title I've had to reassess the goals and what I want to achieve, and for me it's stepping up in those heavier waves and places that make me super uncomfortable.
"That's the beauty of surfing and what keeps me coming back ... to imagine mastering all types of conditions.
"But I have a long way to go ... and it's a scary wave."
Dreams of another world title seemed far-fetched after Gilmore's unlucky start to the last campaign, and just as distant when she narrowly avoided the mid-season cut.
But she scraped in, then qualified fifth for the finals and won five consecutive heats to claim a historic crown.
"I was a bit unsure, 'Am I committed, or am I not?'," she told AAP of her mindset 12 months ago.
"'Am I doing it, or just going to get smashed by these other girls and have a shocker year?'.
"It was a testing year mentally to answer a lot of questions, then I recognised it still has my heart."
The second-oldest surfer on tour behind Slater sees no reason why she should stop now. She has enlisted one of the Floridian's confidantes - and fellow Australian - Mark Visser to help her conquer Pipeline.
The renowned big-wave surfer's Ocean Warrior course teaches underwater breath-holding techniques crucial to handling Hawaii's monstrous conditions.
"It's just peace of mind," Gilmore said of what she gained from her time with Visser.
"It's all in the head; the human body can withstand a lot more time under water than you'd think."
Gilmore has not had to employ those techniques yet, spending about two hours in the line-up the other day and catching just "one little tiny wave".
"The crowd is so intense, the waves are so intimidating," she said.
"Then in a comp there's nobody out and you feel strangely awkward."
She jokes that a round-one heat with defending champion Moana Jones Wong will help because she will be able to follow the local star around.
Five other Australian women will compete but not the injured Sophie McCulloch, who sealed the final tour spot with a win at the final qualification event in December.
Slater will defend his title, while Gabriel Medina returns to Pipe after missing the beginning of last season and Jack Robinson heads a seven-strong Australian men's contingent.
