big wave surfing
"A whole world of pain happened," says Brit Andrew Cotton.
Twelve women competed in the World Surf League's first big-wave surfing contest.
Women ride mountains too.
But the battle for gender equality in sponsorship deals continues.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Sometimes, Mother Nature's fury leaves you with only one option: RUN.
Clyde Aikau might be retiring, but he can still school some of the world's greatest surfers.
The competition ran on Thursday, which was the first time in seven years that waves were big enough to hold it.
The waves were "Mount Everest meets Niagara Falls," he said.
"The Eddie," which requires perfect 40-foot waves, hasn't run since 2009.
Surfers tackled 40-foot rolling walls of ocean in one of the largest swells for years.