European Adventurer of the Year comes from Belgium
A Belgian man called Louis-Philippe Loncke has been successful in winning the title of ‘European Adventurer of the Year 2016’.
To win the prize this adventurer from Moeskroen crossed no less than three deserts in under a year. In doing so he spent 8 days off the beaten track and with no support making the first ever crossing of Death Valley, in the American state of California.
His next and most remarkable exploit was to complete a journey of 300 km in 12 days in Australia's Simpson desert, again carrying only a rucksack. Finally, Louis-Philippe Loncke headed off on his third adventure in October 2016 in Bolivia, where he spent 7 days crossing the salt deserts of Uyuni and Coipasa.
On each one of his trips the Belgian adventurer kept comfort to an absolute minimum. He didn't even take a distress beacon or satellite phone with him to the Bolivian salt deserts.
The prize for ‘European Adventurer of the Year’ was first awarded in 2009. Every year the title is given to someone who has undertaken an extraordinary expedition, in which they have demonstrated that courage and motivation can help people to realise their most adventurous dreams.