Adventurer Spotlight

When walking through the Sarek National Park in Sweden — "Europe's last wilderness"; traveling on skis and sled across the Hardangervidda in Norway; bicycling back and forth across Iceland; canoeing on Swedish lakes, or, as I have now been doing for one and a half years, bicycling around the world, it's nice to have a home. My home weighs just 4 kg, has 5 square meters of space, fits comfortably on my bike or in a backpack and, within 3 or 4 minutes, is pitched up in a place of my choice. No mailbox, no fence, no "private property" signs; just...

Agnieszka & Mateusz had traveled separately to a myriad of wild places, but it was only when then joined and journeyed together that they became TRUE adventurers! Over two years in South America, this Polish couple has cycled over 14,000 km (8700 miles) and climbed a few 6000+ m (19,685 ft) peaks. Their stories and photographs were featured in Polish National Geographic Traveler and various outdoor magazines, and they are also authors of a cycling guidebook.<br /> During their travels, they kept meeting very satisfied Hilleberg tent users, and...

Veterans Expeditions, or VetEx, is a non-profit group who organize and run trips, adventures, and expeditions for military veterans. Owned, operated and led by veterans, VetEx is committed to involving veterans in the outdoors, for both the health and the fun of it. In May of 2015, VetEx led a successful climb on Denali, 6,190 m (20,310 ft). The team of 8, self-named “8 for 22,” dedicated the climb to the 22 service members who commit suicide every day. As one team member wrote later, “We climb for the challenge, fun and discovery inherent in s...

Since 2005, Norwegian Lars Verket has been a fulltime adventurer, writer, ocean paddler and, in his words, “Paddlosopher.” Inspired by the late ecophilosopher Arne Næss, Lars’ ideal is “to promote amazing outdoor experiences close to where people live,” largely to reduce our transportation footprint. “This does not mean less experiences, but rather smarter planning,” says Lars. “If you only go half as far to get to your trip, but stay out twice as long, you’ve reduced your travel by 50 percent.” For Lars, his nearby place is southern Norway, wh...

Darrin Tanner lives in Idaho, USA. A bricklayer by trade, Darrin is outdoors nearly every day, and in the mountains (with his kids) every chance he gets. “I love being in the mountains in all seasons,” he says. “I’m the father of six children and love being with my kids. I’ve taught, and continue to teach, them to love the mountains. The mountains are a place they can leave the stresses of everyday school and life. I’m teaching them that it’s a place where they can bring their hard decisions and make clean minded choices, away from the city noi...

Our research project (the Guassa Gelada Research Project) has been operating out of a year-round tented campsite high in the alpine grasslands of the Ethiopian Highlands since 2005. Hilleberg tents have been vital to the project’s success over the past decade, sheltering us, our intrepid research assistants, and precious research equipment from the often harsh climatic conditions of the Ethiopian Highlands. None of the other tents we’ve ever tried hold a candle to Hillebergs. Not only are Hilleberg’s Atlas tents comfortable enough to live in ye...

Christoph Haas was born and grew up in the German city of Passau, in an area known as the Bavarian Forest. “Because of the altitude and the cold climate, these mountains are very ‘Scandinavian,’” he says. “These small but wild mountains were my playground for 30 years.” He trained as a photographer – “the old fashioned way,” he says, “no computers, but a lot of chemicals!” – then studied engineering physics in Munich. “There I learned that I was not made to live in a big city,” he says. He found his way to Ulm, Germany, about an hour north of t...

As a horribly inexperienced and grossly unfit wanna-be cycle tourist I nervously set off from my flat in the leafy suburbs of West London. Almost 52,000km and 2 1/2 years later my challenge was complete as my bicycle and I rolled into Auckland, New Zealand. As a child I could not run around a field with my friends until I had undergone life changing open heart surgery as a four year old and now I can say I have cycled far enough to circumnavigate the earth. During the journey I encountered some of this planets most brutal environments including...

Eduardo Cartaya is an expedition caver with 30 years’ experience, and he has a special interest in glacier cave systems. He is both an instructor and the Pacific Northwest (USA) regional coordinator for the National Cave Rescue Commission, and he coordinates three glacier cave projects in the region. In 2015, he launched his most ambitious expedition, to map and study the fumarole glacier caves buried hundreds of feet beneath the crater ice caps of 4392 m (14,411 ft) Mt Rainier, an active volcano in Washington state, USA. “On the summit of Rain...

Anette Andersson lives in Åre, Sweden, and is a self-described “passionate explorer.” While she works as a freelance writer and photographer, her real inspiration comes, she says, from, “traveling the globe to experience the adventure in order to capture the essence of the tale.” Anette is an avid outdoorswoman, and any time she is not writing or shooting photos, she is out “finding adventure,” as she puts it. This usually means ski touring, kite surfing, mountain biking, alpine climbing or trail running. Often, her trusty companion is her Anja...

Mirjam Wouters was born in the Netherlands and grew up cycling. When she left on a 3-month vacation in 2001, she had no idea she would still be on the road 15 years later. Since she picked up her bike in 2003, she has cycled nearly 93, 000 km (57,788 miles) through 63 different countries. Along the way, she picks up odd jobs and blogs about her adventures, and, as she puts it, “travelling and experiencing the places I pass at a slow pace.” She loves the ice roads, Northern Lights and the Australian outback, and is always looking for the next ch...

Alasdair Turner is a photographer and mountain guide who spends most of the year traveling away from his home in Seattle, Washington. He guides in Alaska or the Pacific Northwest in the summer months, and as a mountaineer for the US Antarctic Program in winter. And he spends much of his time in his Hilleberg Nallo 2. “It is my go-to tent for most occasions,” says Alasdair. “It is light weight, roomy, and like all Hilleberg tents stays completely dry even after a week of solid rain. As a guide, my tent is often my home. After a long day teaching...

Angela Maxwell is an American woman who has spent the past three years walking her way around the world. In 2014, she quit her job, sold everything she owned, and set out. She has traversed four continents, thirteen countries and walked over 12,000 kilometers, and she is still walking. As she writes on her site, “I walk as a free woman. A woman free to choose an education, a profession, who she marries, where she lives and her personal and political opinions. Many girls and women today don’t have the right or the support to share their voices,...

Kyle Wright is the Forest Archaeologist for The Shoshone National Forest, a rugged area in northwest Wyoming, USA. Lying adjacent to Yellowstone National Park, the Shoshone covers nearly 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres), of which over 607,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) is designated Wilderness. Native Americans have lived in the region for at least 10,000 years, and the Forest includes sections of the Absaroka, Wind River, and Beartooth Mountains. Terrain in the Shoshone includes sagebrush plains, dense fir and spruce forests, and rocky...

Uwe Krauss grew up in East Germany, and when the Wall came down, he recalls, “I was 19 years old just the right time to enjoy the newly gained freedom.” Prior to this, he had been pursuing a career in civil engineering, but wanted to do something more exciting. “At school, Geography was always the subject that interested me most,” he says. “And I liked riding on two wheels. So I went off to ride a motorcycle around the world. I didn’t expect that this would take me six years. Neither did I anticipate that my life afterwards would change complet...

Krister Jonsson was born and grew up in the very small village of Bredträsk, in the far north of Sweden. He grew up climbing, hiking, hunting and fishing, and naturally gravitated towards becoming a professional guide. He worked first in the Kebnekaise Mountain Station, the jumping off point for Sweden's most famous - and most rugged - mountain massif, and by 1996 he had established his own guiding company, Alpine Madness. In 2003, he became one of the first Swedes to earn certification as a UIAGM Mountain Guide. He was also the first Swede to...

G&uuml;nter Wamser is an aircraft engineer by training, but for the last three decades, he has been a nomad by inclination, dedicating his life to travel and adventure. He began with motorcycles, traveling in Africa on shorter journeys. In 1986, he went a step further, and left his "normal" life to begin touring full time. He began by riding his motorcycle from Alaska to South America. Somewhere in Guatemala, he switched from motorcycles to horses, and proceeded to explore the country on horseback. In 1994 he started the adventure of his lifeti...

Ida Nordin and Mimmi Person live in Östersund, Sweden, where Ida is a teacher and Mimmi works in the woods. Both love to get out and travel and camp in the mountains and forest. Avid hikers, bikers and paddlers, they both also had, for many years, a longing to do a long trip and experience the winter in the Swedish mountains. So it seemed natural to challenge themselves with the White Band, which is what a ski tour of the full length of the Swedish mountains is called (if done in the summer, it’s called the Green Band). To earn the White Band c...

Stela Prodanovic, a marketing and public relations specialist based in Switzerland, wants to live her life to the fullest. “Since I was a little girl, I wanted to explore the world,” she says. “I’ve managed to visit over 40 countries so far. I try to live my dream and do as many wonderful things as I can,” she says. She is also an avid climber, with a passion for “climbing high mountains and testing myself on mixed terrain (rock and ice). She recently decided to combine her passion with “an old dream” – to explore South America – and set off on...

Swedes Linnéa Grahn and Emma Lockhart founded their Mind for Adventure partnership in 2013 as a way to carry out expeditions and participate in adventure races. Linnéa, who lives in Stockholm, is an experienced adventurer and guide who has, among other things, participated in several of fellow Swede Ola Skinnarmo’s expeditions in the Arctic. Emma follows her passion for dog sledding on the Hardangervidda mountain plateau in central southern Norway, where she settled after a number of years in New Zealand. “In the summer of 2015 we sought advent...

Since 2009, Loretta Henderson has been bicycling around the world. She has cycled through 40 countries in five continents – Africa, Asia, Oceania, South America, and Europe. After her old tent died in 2013 while in Africa, Loretta reached out to Hilleberg and got a Jannu. When asked about her Jannu she says “This tent is amazing! I can't believe how great it is! You really have to sleep in it to believe it.” Loretta continued to use her Jannu for the rest of her journey which ended in 2014 in Peru.<br /> For more information visit: <a href="ht...

David Reid was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but fell in love with the Arctic, and moved to the Canadian Arctic in 1989. That same year, he founded Polar Sea Adventures, a polar guiding and adventure program, and moved to Pond Inlet, on Baffin Island, in 1991. Since then he has been involved with over 300 Arctic and Antarctic trips and expeditions. David has lead a wide variety of adventures, including dog sledding trips, arctic skiing trips, sea kayaking tours, and expeditions to the floe-edge, where the ice pack meets the sea. In the spring of 2...

Stephen Fabes is a British medical doctor, a freelance writer and an adventure cyclist. In January 2010, Steve set off from London to bike the length of six of the earth's continents. Six years later he returned to London after 86,209 km – a distance of more than twice the circumference of the earth – through 75 countries. <br /> Steve spent much of his time on back roads in the world's wild places, often cycling at altitude and through challenging conditions. He has cycled through 17,000 ft Andean mountain passes, camped on frozen lakes amid...

Kevin Dana is a self-described “regular guy,” but, as he lives in Alaska – where he was born and raised – “regular” might be misleading. He began hunting at age 7, and was a licensed guide by age 20. He works a “real job” – as a manager for a hunting and outdoor specialty retail store – but he lives to be outdoors, both for his own pleasure and as a guide. “I hunt over 50 days a year,” he says, “and if I’m not doing that, I’m hiking or backcountry skiing in the Chugach mountains, which is essentially my backyard.” He uses Hilleberg tents, inclu...

Minkyu Kang lives on the outskirts of Seoul, Korea, where he works as a sales director for an outdoor company. In his spare time, he says, “I enjoy camping, backpacking, canoeing and all sorts of outdoor activity, and I love nature.” And while his job requires that he travel frequently, he wastes no opportunity to mix business with his outdoor passion. “Every time I go out of town to visit our shops,” he says, “I camp out in the mountains, at a local camping area or sometimes even on an island.” Hilleberg tents, he says, “are the best choice fo...

Since age 18 (16 years now) Peter has been ski mountaineering in the Andes (Chile & Argentina, 14 months in total) and later the Pamirs (Tajikistan), Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan) and South Caucasus (Georgia & Armenia). He has done several ski descents of 5000 - 7000m peaks, among them some first descents and steep (55°) routes. He has a particular passion for self-organized trips to remote areas and with close contact to local people, and travelling is an essential part of each trip. He has a fascination for the Caucasus, but has more recently also d...

Famous Polar explorer Matty McNair is one of the most renowned and experienced polar guides and explorers in the world. She has led numerous record-breaking expeditions, including skiing to the North Pole and, unsupported to the South Pole.<br /> <br /> Read more about this amazing polar explorer at <a href="https://www.northwinds-arctic.com" target="_blank">www.northwinds-arctic.com</a>

Sander van der Werf is a Dutch freelance photographer with a passion for the outdoors. “I love to explore nature,” he says, “and my favorite adventures are alpine climbing, long hiking trips and camping.” An autumn hike in Sarek National Park in Sweden left him with a lasting love of Lapland, but he also “has a soft spot for Switzerland and the Alps in general.” On his snow-free trips, he takes his Anjan 3. “Since I usually carry 5 to 6 kg of professional camera gear, the weight of my outdoor gear is very important to me,” he says. “The Anjan i...

Lars Larsson grew up in Sweden, and at a young age became “drawn to adventure,” as he puts it. After pursuing master’s studies in computer science and engineering, he began a career as a journalist, but rediscovered his passion for adventure and exploration. “I have long had a dream of traveling in the footsteps of Swedish explorer and geographer Sven Hedin to document and compare how the landscape and culture of the places Hedin visited has changed over the last hundred years,” says Lars. To follow his dream, Larsson created the Sven Hedin Pro...

Shinya Moriyama is a freelance writer who lives in Nagano, Japan, travels frequently, and works primarily for different outdoor publications. Living near the Japanese Alps, he takes full advantage of the mountains, and spends as much time as possible hiking long distances, stand up paddle board touring, mountain biking and, in the winter, telemark skiing. Year ‘round, he uses his Hilleberg tents. “I have used the Allak, Nallo 2 GT, and Soulo differently based on their personality and the destination climate,” he says. “I have spent over 100 nig...

Eric Philips is an Australian polar adventurer and guide. He has pioneered a new route to the South Pole, skied from Russia to the North Pole and North Pole to Canada, ski-kited across Greenland and the South Patagonian Ice cap and has traversed Spitsbergen and Ellesmere Island. As a guide, Eric has led numerous North and South Pole treks, guided the first school sailing expedition to Antarctica, worked as a polar guide with Greenpeace and for the Australian Antarctic Division, and has taken his family by ship from Hobart to east Antarctica, wh...

Tilmann Graner has had a life-long love affair with the outdoors. A native of Germany, he grew up playing in the mountains, climbing rock and ice, skiing, and hiking. “Mountain climbing is my passion,” he says. “both classic mountaineering and ski mountaineering. And I like solitude, so I like to sleep in a tent!” Day to day, he lives in Sondershausen, Germany, and is a bassoonist for Loh-Orchester Sondershausen/Theater Nordhausen. “The orchestra is closed for 6 weeks in July and August,” he says, “so we travel then.” He and his partner of over...

John Lantz started his outdoor adventuring young, and has been “playing” in the outdoors for over 40 years. Much of his time has been in the mountains of western Norway, but since 2000, he has organized and led expeditions with groups to mountains around the world, currently with the expedition cooperative Swedish Expeditions. He has taken clients to Aconcagua in Argentina, Elbrus in the Caucasus in Russia, Pik Lenin on the border of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, the Andes in Peru and Bolivia, and the mountains of Norway, among others. “The idea,”...

Björn Nehrhoff von Holderberg is a long time Hilleberg user and regular contributor of excellent photos to our Handbook. He is the author of five books, and a full time writer and photographer, working for kayaking, trekking and biking magazines. So he spends a great deal of his time outdoors. That might be hiking, often in the Swedish mountains, or biking. His favorite, however, and what he calls “the supreme discipline of outdoor sports,” is sea kayaking. “Being on a longer trip on a remote coastline,” he says, “one can discover lonely island...

Chris Townsend is one of the best known and most well-respected writers and gear reviewers in the outdoor industry. He has been the equipment editor for the UK’s The Great Outdoors (TGO), since 1991, and has written 25 books. More importantly, he has logged tens of thousands of kilometers backpacking, including the Pacific Crest Trail (3219 km/2000 miles), the Continental Divide Trail (4828 km/3000 miles), and the Pacific Northwest Trail (1931 km/1200 miles) in the US, and, in the UK, the Scottish Watershed from the English border to Duncansby...

Tom Lyon is a lifelong backpacker with a wealth of experiences on the trail. On his first hike, in 1951, as a young Boy Scout in New York state, he met – and was forever inspired by – Gene Espy, the second man to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, which runs from Maine to Georgia in the eastern US. Since then, he has hiked all over the US, including a three week traverse of the Franklin Mountains and Brooks Range in Alaska, long hikes in the Uinta mountains in Utah, in Yellowstone National Park in Montana, and all along the mountains in the eas...

Randy Ternes is perhaps the quintessential outdoor enthusiast from the USA’s Pacific Northwest. Born and raised in Washington, he has lived in that state all his life, and has explored a great deal of his home turf, in all terrains and conditions. He is an accomplished whitewater kayaker; avid mountain biker; rock, alpine and ice climber; and an Alpine, Nordic and Telemark skier. But his real passion is backpacking. 56 years old – or, as he says, with a characteristic chuckle, “that’s 392 in dog years” – he has been backpacking in and out of th...

There was no flat ground, so we scraped away the snow and pitched out our new Hilleberg Nallo 2 GT tent on a tiny patch of bare ground on the ridge of a cliff overlooking the Southern Sea. It was July 28, 2012, the first day of the London Olympics and the first night of our world first running expedition. It was also the first test of many that our little green tent would have to face, as we began running the wild and remote continent of South America. <br /> Remarkably, it survived. Night after night we pitched it on mountains, in thick snow...

Having grown up in the Upper Midwest region of the United States, Emily Ford has never <em>not </em>known what it's like to spend her winter in the snow. "I think for a lot of people, even if you're getting outside in the dark, moving out in the air is lifesaving," she says. Although she didn't grow up in a particularly outdoorsy family, she found her way into the woods quite naturally, starting with short walks in her local area which eventually turned into longer and more remote ventures deep into Minnesota's wilderness. "When I moved the Dul...

Linda Baer is a Swiss graphic designer who is a self-described lover of “remoteness, high mountains and vast deserts – adventures away from the tourism industry.” In 2015, she set out on her bike, eventually spending 20 months cycling about 22,000 km (13,670 miles) through 20 countries. Traveling south from Switzerland, she rode through Italy, the Balkans and Greece, continued through Turkey, and into the Caucasus, stopping in Kyrgyzstan. From there, she flew to, and then biked through, Southeast Asia before flying to New Zealand for a tour of...

Felix Berg is an avid climber and mountaineer who successfully weaves his passion into his business. Since 2000, Felix has climbed all over the world, from Peru and Patagonia to the Himalayas, where he has summited Ama Dablam (6812 m, 22,349 ft), Kangchenjunga (8586 m, 28,169 ft) and Mt Everest (8,848 m, 29,029 ft), the youngest German to do so. He is also Managing Director of SummitClimb, which organizes trekking, climbing and other expeditions worldwide. With a mission statement of “Together to the top,” SummitClimb handles anything from week...

Christine Hägglund, who lives in Östersund, Sweden with her husband and her 5, 7 and 9 year old children, has “actively trained and exercised” since she was very young. For many years, she competed in both cross-country skiing and orienteering. “These days I am still active,” she says, “but I don’t compete. Instead, I find my own adventures, amongst which running in the mountains is one of my favorites.” Her dream adventure? To run the entire length of the Swedish mountain range, a route many had walked, but no one had run. So, on July 1, 2013...