Kayak Session Magazine

The biggest whitewater kayaking magazine in the world. If a photo speaks a thousand words, then Kayak Session is an encyclopedia. Dubbed the ‘National Geographic’ of whitewater kayaking, we collaborate with some of the best photographers and most acclaimed writers in the outdoor industry. Our photo concept is to show stunning images of kayakers in their element. This photos-first idea is coupled with a creative layout and fresh content, sure to inspire our readers with every issue. Kayak Session is the essential reading for whitewater kayakers worldwide.

EGO /ˈiːɡəʊ,ˈɛːɡəʊ/

GALLERY SHOT

NEWS AND HAPPENINGS • This ongoing column is a place to report on the current news, latest descents, expeditions, people and trends in the whitewater world. The world is indeed a big place but the river connects us all. This column attempts to keep us in touch throughout the world paddling community.

DESCENTS

EVENTS

ENVIRO

BOOKS

BIG HORN ANATOMY OF A FIRST DESCENT • Although there are no rules for finding first descents, there are some rules of thumb. Impossible access, political instability, or backyard micro drainages with tiny flow windows are all good bets for a modern First D. Erik Boomer, Nouria Newman, and Ben Stookesberry’s exploratory descents of the Tongue River and Big Goose Creek in the Big Horn Mountains are none of those things. Yet somehow, in eight days of kayaking, the team was the first to descend 7000 vertical feet of jaw-dropping and mostly runnable whitewater in the middle of America.

VEINS OF AFRICA EXPLORING MALAWI & TANZANIA • In a deep rift in Eastern Africa lies Lake Malawi, the ninth largest lake in the world. Reputedly discovered and named “Nyasa,” meaning “lake,” by David Livingston in 1859, today the lake forms much of Malawi’s boundary with Tanzania and Mozambique. Dewet Michau was drawn to Malawi not for its lake exactly, but for the 14 major tributaries that feed it and the whitewater potential they hold.

NOURIA NEWMAN • Nouria Newman is one of the most recognized faces in the game right now. With first descents on multiple continents and wins in almost every discipline of the sport, the über-talented French paddler is simultaneously one of the boys and pushing the limits of what it means to be female in whitewater. But be careful not to put limits on Nouria. Beneath the RedBull helmet lies a smart, feisty, fiercely opinionated, compassionate, and highly capable individual not afraid to tell you what she thinks.

MALABAR RIVER FESTIVAL 2018 • “When it rains, it pours,” goes the old adage. Nowhere is this more accurate than in the jungles of Southern India. When the monsoons come, they bring a deluge of water, flooding the area with life and opportunity. In the small town of Kodenchery, the flooded rivers have created opportunity in an unexpected form: the Malabar River Festival. Currently the largest kayaking festival in Asia, the sixth edition was bigger, better, and more international than ever before. But the Malabar River Festival is about more than a title and a $20,000 cash prize; it is about bringing people together to create new life and potential for Asia’s future.

TAKING THE BUS TO SCHOOL : HOW THE OTTAWA RIVER CONTINUES TO INFLUENCE THE NEXT GENERATION. • Up and coming paddlers help keep our sport growing and evolving. In this column, World Class Academy Principal Capo Rettig interviews new, young talent to explore themes of the whitewater scene.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? • In this column, Nouria takes her cue from the work of Pierre Bourdieu, a left-inspired French sociologist, and contemplates what the names we give to rapids reveal.

BECOMING AN AMBASSADOR FOR KAYAKING A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO INFLUENCING YOUR COMMUNITY IN A POSITIVE WAY • In this column, EJ shares ways to make your paddling community stronger and more fired-up than...