Maybe sometimes it is better not to know what to expect, to expect the unexpected, and to just go with the flow. "To remember that your present situation is not your final destination, that the best is yet to come, and that fortune favours the brave." (Quotes found inside Yak Hotel, Makalu BC). With no… Continue reading Two Cols and a Concussion
Never ever have I been as relieved to reach a place as I was when I got out of the jeep into the streets of Num. After a small quest to restock on cookies, kerosene and a welcome meal of fried noodles with eggs, we were ready to start afresh. A local man led us… Continue reading The promised land: Num to Makalu Base Camp
The way to Num was long, hard and full of surprises. I'd like to explain, first of all, that I will be talking a lot from the I perspective in my writings from the Great Himalaya Trail. This is because, even though we are a team, at the same time it is a very personal… Continue reading Brutalised and shattered: Taplejung to Num
Back in Belgium, I got the feeling that the universe did not seem to be aligned for this trip. Never have I been seriously injured before, yet 3 weeks before flying to Kathmandu I took a muscle in my ankle. Wherever I needed to get to in Belgium had road diversions or cancelled trains. While… Continue reading The Great Himalaya Trail, chapter 1: rumbles in Kathmandu
Our story with Aarn starts on Te Araroa in New Zealand. When we first started encountering these packs we frowned at them with great skepticism, wondering how awkward it must be walking with those pockets on the front of your body. We didn’t really understand the point of it, and we decided we did not… Continue reading Aarn Guiding Light Bodypack
1. SEASON September - January/February Started in Kanchenjunga in the end of September, we still hit the last of monsoon season. A lot of rain during the first three weeks on the Milky Danda and in Makalu. Everest was very busy as we hit it in the middle of peak season (mid-October), so at times… Continue reading Great Himalaya Trail: Planning & Logistics
Three seasons in Swedish Lapland have gone and passed. Every season has come with an abundance of mixed feelings. Already in summer I decided it would be my last trip to the Swedish north. One to end it, one to close the chapter, one to enjoy driving sleds in Kiruna one more time. It didn’t… Continue reading Another day in paradise
Being the last outpost before the North Pole, the backcountry of Svalbard is one that truly deserves to be called wilderness. On these desolate islands approximately 2500 people share the land with more than 3000 polar bears. The geography is striking: pointy mountains rising out of the sea, broad valleys crosscut by glacial rivers, ridgelines… Continue reading The road through Norway, part IV: Svalbard
Coming to the end of a winter season feels very similar to coming to the end of a long hike: it's an intense period and it seems that it will never stop, then suddenly it's all over. People who were automatically around go their own ways. Life as it is stops right there. My last… Continue reading The end
Spring always represents a clean break in the season. Suddenly I wake up early in the morning because the sun is piercing my eyes. It's so warm outside that I only need a fleece jacket to go around. God forbid, I have to take sunglasses on tour, I need them for driving, I need… Continue reading Spring
Team Belgica 