Louis-Philippe Loncke facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Louis-Philippe Loncke
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| Born | 3 March 1977 Mouscron, Belgium
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| Education | ECAM, KU Leuven, UAMS |
| Occupation | Consultant, Explorer, Adventurer |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Louis-Philippe Loncke is a Belgian explorer, adventurer, and speaker. He is known for his challenging journeys across tough environments. In 2008, he was the first person to walk across the entire Simpson Desert from north to south. This journey went right through the desert's center.
In 2018, he walked across Tasmania during the winter. He did this without getting any new supplies along the way. Because of this tough feat, some Australians called him the Mad Belgian.
Contents
About Louis-Philippe Loncke
Early Life and School
Louis-Philippe Loncke was born in Mouscron, Belgium. His family made furniture. He studied engineering in Brussels at ECAM. He also earned master's degrees from KU Leuven and the University of Antwerp Management School.
His Career Journey
Loncke started his career working in logistics, which is about planning how things move. Since 1999, he has worked for many different companies. He has been a management consultant since 2007, mostly in IT.
The skills he learned in his corporate jobs helped him plan his expeditions very well. He also taught himself photography, SEO (making websites easy to find), marketing, and communications. From 2006 to 2013, he volunteered for an organization called Art in All of Us.
Becoming an Adventurer
Loncke began traveling alone in 2000. In 2002, he worked in Singapore and learned scuba diving. To follow his passion for diving, he traveled around Oceania for a year between 2004 and 2005.
He started hiking and learned about other adventurers. He became very interested after seeing the famous film Alone across Australia. When he returned to Belgium, he met author and adventurer Sylvain Tesson, who encouraged him. Loncke went back to Australia in 2006 to start his first three expeditions.
His first solo trip across the Tasmanian Wilderness without new supplies helped him get sponsors. It also made him known among Australian explorers. After a year in Australia, he returned to Belgium. He then started planning many "world first" expeditions. His first big goal was to cross the Simpson Desert at its longest point.
He has also organized trips to raise money for charity. One of these was the highest chocolate tasting, which happened near Everest. In July 2010, he walked across Iceland from north to south. He even made a funny video that became very popular in Iceland.
Amazing Expeditions
First-Ever Journeys
- 2006 - He crossed the West MacDonnell National Park without any help.
- 2006 - He walked across Fraser Island without support.
- 2007 - He crossed the Tasmanian Wilderness without getting new supplies.
- 2008 - He was the first to cross the Simpson Desert from north to south, going through its center.
- 2010 - He walked across Iceland in the summer without support.
- 2011 - The BelgiKayak expedition: He traveled by kayak through Belgian waterways.
- 2012 - He crossed Poland using only his own power. He walked across the Tatras Mountains from Mount Rysy. Then, he kayaked on the Vistula River to the Baltic Sea. He talked about this trip at TEDxWarsaw in 2013.
- 2013 - The TitiKayak expedition: He kayaked all the way around Lake Titicaca with Gadiel Sánchez Rivera. They created the first photo map of the lake, taking pictures and GPS points of the shoreline. They also took underwater photos to find where the giant frog Telmatobius culeus lives. He explained the goal of this trip at TEDxFlanders.
- 2015 - He crossed Death Valley National Park from north to south without support.
- 2016 - Salar trek 2: He walked across Salar de Coipasa and Salar de Uyuni without support. These two salt flats are in the Bolivian Altiplano. They are what's left of an ancient lake.
- 2018 - Tasmania Winter Trek: He walked across Tasmania from north to south during the winter. He did this without food or gas supplies, without using roads, and only sleeping in a tent.
- 2020 - HRP2020: He crossed the Pyrenees mountains from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. He did this without supplies or help, sleeping only in a tent. He also climbed Pico Aneto, the highest peak.
- 2021 - He walked and used a packraft (a small inflatable boat) along the entire Kungsleden trail in Sweden without support. He also climbed Skierfe and the North and South summits of Kebnekaise.
- 2023 - GTA2023: He crossed the French Alps from the Mediterranean Sea to Lake Geneva. He did this without resupply, using only public water sources, without help, and sleeping only in a tent. He followed the GTA or Grande Traversée des Alpes route.
Charity and Cultural Journeys
- 2009 - Chocolate Sherpa expedition: He walked 400 km from Kathmandu to Everest Base Camp and back to Lukla. During this trip, he gave out chocolate.
Science and Other Journeys
- 2013 - Cordell expedition to Clipperton Island: This was a scientific trip and a DX-pedition (for radio communication).
- 2013 - Marañón River expedition: He joined a rafting and kayaking trip on the upper part of the river for six days.
- 2013 - Salar trek expedition: He tried to walk across Salar de Coipasa and Salar de Uyuni without supplies but was not able to finish.
- 2016 - He made a partial crossing of the Simpson Desert from west to east. He went from Old Andado to Poeppel Corner and through the center.
- 2024 - He attempted to cross the Simpson Desert twice, covering over 1000 km. He had to stop because of a small injury and his cart being too heavy.
Personal Challenges
- 2020 - The Everest Bueren Challenge: He climbed up and down the stairs of the Montagne de Bueren 135 times. He carried a 15 kg backpack, which is like climbing Mount Everest.
- 2021 - Confined in my Tent: He lived for one week on a small platform (5 square meters) hanging 10 meters above the ground.
- 2022 - He set an unsupported speed record on the GR 70 Stevenson hiking trail.
Films About His Adventures
Since 2021, Louis-Philippe Loncke has started making films about his expeditions and challenges. These films are shown online or at festivals.
- 2021 - The Mad Belgian: Keep walking
- 2022 - The Mad Belgian: Confined in My Tent
Awards and Special Recognition
- In 2009, he was named "young talent of the year" by the Baillis of Mouscron.
- Outer Edge magazine chose his Simpson Desert crossing as one of the top 10 Australian expeditions in 2011.
- He became a member of the Explorers Club in 2010 and a Fellow in 2014.
- He became a Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society in 2011.
- In September 2011, the Jane Goodall Institute Belgium made him a goodwill ambassador for their Roots & Shoots program.
- The LOCOG chose him to carry the Olympic Flame through Choppington on June 15, 2012.
- He was a finalist in the Photoshoot Awards contest OCEAN 2013 for the "Pollution" category.
- On May 7, 2014, Jane Goodall honored him as a "Jane Goodall Institute Knight for Youth, Animals and Plants in the Order of the Iguana" in Brussels.
- At the ISPO fair in Munich, he was named "European Adventurer of the Year 2016".
- He was made an Honorary Bailli of Mouscron in October 2017.
- ExplorersWeb ranked his 2018 Tasmania Winter Trek as the #3 expedition of that year.
See also
In Spanish: Louis-Philippe Loncke para niños
