Top Waterwomen Charge Big-Wave Season in Hawaii

Until you’ve seen big-wave surfing up close, it’s hard to understand just how massive and intimidating these waves really are. Towering walls of water loom on the horizon, getting larger and larger until they finally break in a thundering explosion of whitewater. It’s one of those things that if you’ve seen it and felt it, most people quickly realize they don’t want to be apart of it.

Any human that decides to paddle themselves past the point of no return and leap to their feet is doing an incredible job of fear management. The reward for successfully riding one of these waves is an unrivaled adrenaline rush, the risk is a vicious wipeout that can easily cause serious injury or even death.

While top big-wave surfers like Kai Lenny, Grant Baker and Billy Kemper get a lot of the spotlight for their big-wave riding abilities, there’s another group of chargers that are finally beginning to get the attention they deserve.

Top waterwomen are getting a big platform this season to showcase their big-wave riding prowess thanks to Red Bull Magnitude. This big-wave video contest kicked off last month and will crown the waterwoman that performs the best throughout the entire Hawaiian winter big-wave season. Here’s a look back at the heaviest moments that went down in December, and with the giant swell coming in this weekend, this competition is far from over.

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