Whitewater kayaking is not big business. Most of the sport’s athletes aren’t getting paid huge sums of money to appear in television spots and push things like headphones and outerwear. They don’t have marketing or PR agents filtering their emails. They run difficult whitewater for one reason: they love it. And even though the industry of whitewater kayaking has been ravaged the last half-decade or so, these fantastic athletes continue to do fantastic things in fantastic places.
Athletes like France’s Nouria Newman, not just one of the best female kayakers in the world, but one of the best kayakers. She had a hell of a year. The above film she shot herself shows her journey as she runs three big water, Class V rivers in the most remote part of India, alone. As you can see, she goes from ecstatic to scared shitless and everything in between. The Tsarap, Zanskar, and Indus give her all she can handle and more. But she keeps it together and finishes a difficult expedition. If you aren’t following her journey, check her out, here. She doesn’t disappoint, and you’ll find a way to relate, even if you’ve never picked up a paddle.
