Louis-Philippe Loncke is a Belgian explorer, adventurer and motivational speaker. In 2008, he achieved the world first crossing on foot of the length of the Simpson Desert,Herald Sun, "If the desert doesn't get you, the camels might", 23 August 2008 which was a North to South traverse passing through its geographical center. In 2018, he traversed Tasmania during the austral winter without resupplies and was nicknamed the Mad Belgian by some Australians.
Early life and education Loncke was born in Mouscron, Belgium to a family of furniture makers. He studied engineering in Brussels at ECAM, a master in Industrial management in KU Leuven and treasury management at the University of Antwerp Management School.
Career
Management consultant Loncke started his career as logistics manager. Since 1999, he has built experience in over 10 corporate companies in various positions. He has been working as management consultant since 2007 mainly in IT. The skills he acquired in the corporate world allowed him to efficiently plan his expeditions. He is also self-taught in photography, SEO, marketing and communications. From 2006 to 2013, he was volunteering at NGO Art in All of Us and was elected member of the board of directors in 2010."Resume on Linkedin"
Adventurer and explorer Loncke started traveling alone in 2000. In 2002, he was sent to Singapore for work and learned scuba diving. To fulfill this passion he traveled for a year in Oceania between 2004 and 2005. He started hiking and heard about adventurers and explorers; and became interested after seeing the world acclaimed film Alone across Australia. Back in Belgium, he met author and adventurer Sylvain Tesson who encouraged him to continue. Loncke left again in 2006 to Australia to start his first three expeditions."Short Biography"
His first solo unresupplied traverse of the Tasmanian Wilderness brought him the first sponsors and recognition among Australian explorers. After a year in Australia, he went back to Belgium and started planning for a series of several world first expeditions, the first being to attempt crossing the Simpson Desert at its longest distance.
He has organised charity expeditions involving media buzz including the highest chocolate tasting, on Everest. In July 2010, he trekked across IcelandIcenews, "Walking alone across Iceland not enough: Belgian explorer to try again in winter" , 9 August 2010 between its extreme latitude from North to South. He spoofed an Icelandic promotional videoIcenews, "Belgian explorer inspired by Inspired by Iceland" , 17 October 2010 that got viral in Iceland. He has announced a return to Iceland to attempt doing the journey during the winter.Grapevine Interview "This Man Crossed Iceland With No Outside Help And He'll Do It Again" , 31 March 2011 Both his Simpson and Iceland expeditions involved a science program of the MSH of Paris named Stress and decision taking in extreme environment.
Expeditions
World firsts 2006 - Unsupported crossing of the West MacDonnell National ParkAlice Springs News, "Hill after Hill", 21 September 2006 2006 - Unsupported traverse of Fraser IslandFraser Island expedition mentioned, "Belgian explorer takes on Australia’s Dead Heart", 31 August 2016Unsupported Fraser Island expedition mentioned, "Walking the Globe with Louis-Philippe Loncke", 14 September 2017 2007 - Unresupplied crossing of the Tasmanian Wilderness49 days Tasmanian walk mentioned, "Belgian explorer takes on Australia’s Dead Heart", 31 August 2016Unsupported Tasmanian walking expedition mentioned, "Walking the Globe with Louis-Philippe Loncke", 14 September 2017 2008 - Unsupported crossing of the Simpson Desert from North to South and passing through the center.The Monitor, p7, "36 days alone in the desert", 28 August 2008Sudpresse Archive, "800km en 35 jours" , 17 November July 2008 2010 - Unsupported traverse of Iceland in the SummerMorgunblaðið, "Walked across the country in 19 days", 31 July 2010FastestKnownTime, "FKT - Route: Iceland N-S Traverse (Iceland)", Published le 3 May 2024 2011 - BelgiKayak expedition, touring by kayak the Belgian waterways.Sudpresse Archive, "Le tour de Belgique en kayak" , 9 July 2011L'avenir, "Un tour de Belgique à la rame", 11 July 2011 2012 : Crossing of Poland by human power from Mount Rysy across the Tatras Mountains by foot, then by kayak on the Vistula to the Baltic sea.Belgijski podróżnik Louis-Philippe Loncke pokonał 1200 km przez Polskę, 4 June 20121200 km przez Polskę - pieszo, tratwą i kajakiem. Belg zakończył wyprawę, Wprost24, 4 June 20121200 km przez Polskę - pieszo, tratwą i kajakiem. Belg zakończył wyprawę, Naszemiasto Gdansk, 4 June 2012 He spoke about the expedition at TEDxWarsaw 2013.Slowly Down the Vistula: Louis-Philippe Loncke at TEDxWarsaw, TED.com, 21 March 2013 2013 - TitiKayak expedition with Gadiel Sánchez Rivera. Full tour by kayak of lake Titicaca. Creation of the first geotagged photographic inventory of the lake: they took GPS coordinates of the location of the limit between the water and the ground and alongside photographs of the background. They also took underwater photos on the Northern Bolivian coast to locate the living habitat of the giant frog Telmatobius culeus.PAT Bolivia, "Hola Pais, Louis-Philippe recorrio el lago Titicaca", 25 September 2013Save The Frogs, "Frog conservation in Bolivia" LeVif.be "Une expédition sur le lac Titicaca", 16 August 20137sur7.be "Expédition sur le lac Titicaca", 16 August 2013 He told the purpose of the expedition at TEDxFlanders.Adventure: Louis-Philippe Loncke, TED.com, 26 March 2014 2015 - Unsupported traverse of Death Valley National Park from North to SouthL'avenir, "Un Mouscronnois a réussi à traverser la Vallée de la Mort en autonomie", 16 November 2015 2016 - Salar trek 2. Unsupported traverse of Salar de Coipasa and Salar de Uyuni on foot. These two Salt flats are located in the Bolivian Altiplano and are the remains of Lake Tauca.Le Vif, "Un Belge a traversé le plus grand désert de sel", 21 October 2016Le Soir, "Le premier homme à traverser le plus grand désert de sel à pied est belge", 21 October 2016HLN.be, "Belg is eerste die grootste zoutvlakte ter wereld volledig autonoom oversteekt", 21 October 2016 2018 - Tasmania Winter Trek. North to South traverse of Tasmania during the austral winter, without food or gas resupplies, without using roads and only sleeping in a tent. 2020 - HRP2020. Crossing the Pyrenees from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, without supplies, without assistance and sleeping only in a tent; and climbing the summit of Pico Aneto. Its route follows a variant of the Haute Randonnée Pyrénéenne 2021 - He walks and packrafts the entire Kungsleden trail unsupported, climbing underway also Skierfe and the Kebnekaise North and South summits.7sur7, "Un Belge, premier au monde à parcourir le Kungsleden en autonomie complète en Suède", 4 September 2021NOtele, "L'aventurier Louis-Philippe Loncke a vaincu le Kungsleden en Laponie", 1 September 2021L'avenir, "519 km en Laponie en solo pour Louis-Philippe Loncke: «J’aime être en autonomie complète»", 11 August 2021FastestKnownTime, "FKT - Route: Kungsleden (Sweden)", Validated on 3 September 2021GVA, "Belg breekt breekt wereldrecord met langste solotrektocht in Zweden", 4 September 2021HLN, "Belgische avonturier legt als eerste Koningspad in Zweden volledig autonoom af", 4 September 2021 2023 - GTA2023. Crossing the French Alps from the Mediterranean Sea to Lake Geneva, without resupply, using water from only public sources, without assistance and sleeping only in a tent. He followed the GTA or Grande Traversée des Alpes from Nice to Thonon-les-Bains.France3 Info, "Première mondiale : un Belge traverse les Alpes en autonomie en moins de 24 jours", 11 August 2023NoTele, "Nouvel exploit pour Louis-Philippe Loncke qui a traversé les Alpes en totale autonomie", 13 August 2023LeSoir, "Un explorateur belge bat un record dans les Alpes", 11 August 2022FastestKnownTime, "FKT - Route: Grande Traversée des Alpes via the GR5", Published on 9 May 2024
Charity and cultural expeditions 2009 - Chocolate Sherpa expedition,7sur7, "Une dégustation de chocolat belge aura lieu début mai sur l'Everest", 8 April 2009 walking 400 km from Kathmandu to Everest Base Camp and back to Lukla distributing chocolate.
Scientific and other expeditions 2013 - Cordell expedition to Clipperton Island. Scientific and DXpedition with callsign TX5K."Cordell 2013 Clipperton expedition"CBS News San diego, "Boaters return to San Diego after island exploration", 19 March 2013ICvolunteers, "GreenVoice a Voice for the Clipperton Expedition", 18 February 2013 2013 - Marañón River expedition. Joined for 6 days the 1 month rafting and kayaking of the upper part of the riverSierraRios.org, "Marañon Sep28-Oct27 (2013) report", 2013 2013 - Salar trek expedition. He attempted, but failed, to traverse Salar de Coipasa and Salar de Uyuni on foot without any resupply.Nord Eclair, "Louis-Philippe Loncke vaincu par le désert de sel", 27 November 2013L'Avernir, "Après l'assaut du lac Titicaca, il abandonne dans le désert", 27 November 2013 2016 - Unsupported partial crossing of the Simpson Desert from West to East from Old Andado to Poeppel Corner and passing through the center.News.com.au, "Belgian explorer takes on Australia’s Dead Heart", 11 August 2016La Libre, "Un Belge parcourt 300 km seul à travers le désert de Simpson en Australie", 16 September 2016 2024 - Failed attempt at a double crossing of the Simpson Desert of over 1000km. Abandoned due to a slight injury and the weight of the cart being too heavy.
Challenges 2020 - The Everest Bueren Challenge, climbing up and down the stairs of the Montagne de Bueren 135 times with a 15 kg backpack. 2021 - Confined in my Tent, living 1 week on a 5m² platform hanging 10m above the ground.DHnet, "Vivre en autonomie pendant 1 semaine suspendu sur une plateforme de 5m², le défi fou de l’aventurier Belge Louis-Philippe Loncke", 23 December 2021NOtele, "Tournai : Louis-Philippe Loncke a réussi son pari de rester pendant une semaine à 10m de hauteur", 22 December 2021SUDinfo, "L’aventurier Louis-Philippe Loncke livre son expérience dans les airs pour Viva For Life derrière la Cathédrale de Tournai", 21 December 2021 2022 - Unsupported speed record on the GR 70 Stevenson hiking trail.Midi Libre, "Cévennes : il parcourt le GR 70, soit 276 km depuis Le Puy-en-Velay jusqu'à Alès, en 4 jours et 20 heures", 26 August 2022Nord Eclair, "Mouscron: Louis-Philippe Loncke a fait le GR70 (276km) en 5 jours et en autonomie", 30 August 2022
Films From 2021, he started to produce films about his expeditions and challenges. The films are released online or screened at festivals. 2021 - The Mad Belgian: Keep walking"The Mad Belgian: Keep walking", on IMDb 2022 - The Mad Belgian: Confined in My Tent"The Mad Belgian: Confined in My Tent", on IMDb
Awards and recognition
In 2009, he was awarded young talent of the yearL'avenir, "L'ordre des Baillis s'élargit", 6 October 2009 by the Baillis of Mouscron. Outer Edge magazine has selected in its February–March 2011 issue Loncke's Simpson desert crossing being in the top 10 Australian expeditions to the edge of reason.Outer Edge, "The Top 10 Craziest Expeditions Ever to Touch Australia" , 23 December 2010 Accepted as member of the Explorers Club in 2010"Loncke's Explorers Club page" and elected to Fellow in 2014. Becoming Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 2011 In September 2011, the Jane Goodall Institute Belgium nominates him as goodwill ambassador for the Roots & Shoots program.Roots & Shoots ambassador Selected by the LOCOG to carry the Olympic Flame through Choppington on 15 June 2012. Finalist Photoshoot Awards contest OCEAN 2013, category Pollution."Photoshoot Awards OCEAN 2013"