Plains as far as the eye can see, deserted, harsh.
One of the largest glaciers in the world where in the middle flows a wild and cold river, then the fall of Alderjafoss, a wall.
Nouria Newman is fascinated: “I had wanted to face him for a long time.
It's not just the fall, it's the scenery!
You go down in the middle of basalt columns.
In the rock there are springs of water that gush out.
It's crazy !
Welcome to Iceland.
It is there, in the middle of nowhere, that the young woman made her last trip in October, visible since Thursday in a video.
A new successful challenge for this extreme kayaker, one of the best in her specialty, who has chosen to live her passion in the heart of nature.
However, the initial project was not to take her to the wilderness of northern Europe: "I had to go to Nepal, but with the Covid, the opening of its borders was postponed," says the young woman of 29 years.
So I found myself up there with Anup, whom I met in India and who spends half of the year in Iceland.
“On the images, the Nepalese guide tells his young protégé what are the obligatory passages.
Paths that no one wants to take.
In Iceland, where she spent 4 weeks last October, Nouria Newman pushed the limits in kayaking.
Christophe LACAZE-ESLOUS
Born to a London father and a Parisian mother, Nouria, like any Savoyarde, is gifted on skis.
It was long before, at the age of 4, that she discovered the joys of sliding on the water: “I was convinced that the kayak was a giant Playmobil!
I had to learn to swim the following year to join the friends.
We were camping, we had a lot of fun, the technique came later.
“She then follows the classic route, the France team, a title of vice-world champion in slalom in 2013, without succeeding in qualifying for the Games.
Braked in her tracks by injuries, Nouria changes her style.
It will therefore be extreme kayaking, a sport that connects it to nature and which feeds on high standards: “It's like freeriding, outside of the frame.
You can feel the pure sensations of gliding, speed and adrenaline.
The complexity is having the right line while being fast.
It's dangerous, you can hit trees and sharp stones, you can also get sucked under the rock.
The real danger is taking too many risks.
However, I am not at all a daredevil.
I would love to try impossible things but I'm too scared.
In the car, my friends make fun of me because I drive like a granny ... "
2013 world champion, the student in master of journalism in Toulouse has ventured with other comrades in the most hostile places on the planet, from the Himalayas to Quebec, via Patagonia or even India. .
In each journey, she adapts: “We have to go and find information on the spot to find the paths that lead to the water.
We are very good at cooking ourselves and sleeping outside!
This life suits me perfectly.
To beautiful hotels, I prefer to camp on farms and create friendships with the locals.
We avoid taxis and travel by bus.
Anyway, where we're going, there is nothing.
And the less, the better.
"
Nouria Newman is part of the Red Bull team, which includes Luc Alphand, Cyril Despres, and the Soul Flyers.
Teddy Morelec / Red Bull Content Pull
Supported by Red Bull, like Cyril Despres (five-time Dakar winner) and the Soul Flyers, Nouria has the chance to be a professional.
She admits being in a "somewhat precarious" situation, but manages to get out of it thanks to her various projects.
Above all, she has found her balance and an endless playground to continue having fun.
With an absolute dream: “I would love to go down the Yarlung Tsanpo river.
It is the longest river in Tibet, at 2000 meters in the heart of the Himalayas.
Unfortunately, with the strict measures taken by China, this is no longer possible.
"
