The adventurer's base camp
Kim Herremans and her partner Igor Callaerts love the mountains. They prefer to plan their own trips and steer clear of well-trodden paths and tourist hotspots. Kim: “We want to feel like we’re truly going on an adventure. Carrying our own gear up the mountain and setting up high-altitude camps without a guide or porters gives us a real sense of accomplishment!”
It’s clear that Kim and Igor like their adventures to be challenging. And how! Last year, they successfully climbed a 6,000-metre peak in Nepal. In 2011, they climbed a mountain over 6,000 metres high in South America. They are currently training and building up their fitness for an ascent of a 7,000-metre peak in Pakistan.
Mountaineers Kim and Igor don’t go for the most famous mountains. Mount Everest, for example, is not on their list: “Mount Everest is far too expensive, the routes are overcrowded, and these days there’s a high risk of freezing to death while waiting in line to reach the summit,” says Kim.
What does get them excited is a lesser-known mountain they can climb independently. Spantik in Pakistan fits the bill perfectly. An organisation arranges support up to base camp. From there, they are on their own. Kim: “We choose a mountain for the views. We always ask ourselves: ‘Is it worth making an attempt to reach the summit?’”
We’re big fans of Europe. It’s an incredibly diverse continent. Italy and France have magnificent mountains, but we’ve also been captivated by Eastern Europe. Of course, the mountains there aren’t as imposing as the Himalayas. That’s where you’ll find the highest peaks in the world, which is part of what makes them so appealing to us.
What drives them? First and foremost, curiosity. Curiosity about the country and its people, as well as the way mountain expeditions are organised. Other motivations are, of course, the views, but also the challenge and the feeling of being away from the rest of the world for a while.
Kim: “It’s so wonderful to sit in a mountain hut surrounded by people who have all made it there in their own way. Some take one trail, others take another. One person hopes to reach the summit, while for someone else, the hut is the final destination. But everyone has made it there on foot under their own steam. There’s no Wi-Fi in a hut like that. In the evening, you can enjoy the sunset over the mountains outside. It’s a wonderful feeling!”
The mountain expeditions Kim and Igor undertake are always demanding physical challenges. A trip typically lasts around a month: a few days travelling towards the mountains, about three days hiking to base camp, followed by almost three weeks on the mountain, acclimatising, carrying equipment up and eventually descending again.
Kim and Igor are very active in their spare time and spend a lot of time outdoors, but they still do extra training whenever they have a trip planned. For their trip to South America, for example, they focused on strengthening their muscles at the gym. Their expedition to Pakistan requires a little more preparation. They are working with a sports physician, with particular attention to heart rate and pulse irregularities. An intensive running schedule is also part of their training, and they do muscle-strengthening exercises at home to build up the strength they need.
Kim was a member of the hiking club ‘De Wijngaardstappers’ in Nijlen together with her parents. She has therefore been visiting Base Camp since she was a child. They always went there to buy equipment for their hikes. “I’ve always bought my hiking boots there. And we also went there to buy our equipment for our very first mountain expedition in 2008,” says Kim.
“Marc is not only incredibly passionate about what he does; he also knows his products and what he’s talking about. That gives you confidence. That’s why we didn’t hesitate to visit Base Camp for advice when we were preparing for our mountain expedition in the Andes in 2011. Marc has a lot of products in the shop, but you can also browse the catalogue and order specialist items that you won’t necessarily find on the shelves.”
“I once bought a sleeping bag for our trip in 2011. We’re heading back to very high altitudes soon. We’d read online that a down sleeping bag only lasts ten years, so I panicked and went to Marc to ask whether I needed a new one. He suggested sending the sleeping bag to Valandré (the manufacturer) to ask what they thought. In the end, I got it back washed and in perfect condition, with a new storage bag because the sleeping bag had outlasted its original one. That really is top-notch service. Marc didn’t immediately tell me to buy a new sleeping bag. In the end, all I paid for was having it washed. That made me feel really good about the whole experience.”
“Thanks to Marc, I once bought a Mammut windstopper jacket. Mammut wasn’t a brand I would normally have chosen because it’s quite expensive. But it was on sale, and Marc came over to tell me that it was a really good piece of kit and that it would be a shame to leave it behind. I bought it, and I regret not buying two (laughs). I’ve had that windstopper for at least 16 or 17 years now, and I still get a lot of use out of it!”
“The Hilleberg Staika remains our go-to tent at lower altitudes, but for higher elevations, we use a lighter tent: the Hilleberg Nallo. We’ve been taking this tent on trips for many years. It’s lightweight, strong and can literally be pitched in just a few minutes. It has proved itself in the most extreme conditions: heavy rain, gale-force winds and snow. The vestibule is large enough to keep our backpacks and shoes dry. If necessary, you can even cook a small meal in there. Thanks to its ingenious ventilation system, condensation is kept to a minimum.
Igor and I once rode out a severe storm in New Zealand in this tent. The following morning, we saw that our Nallo was one of the few tents still standing undamaged at the campsite.
“Marc gave us the confidence to invest in the slightly more expensive Hilleberg tents. During the first year we used one, someone stepped on our tent flysheet with their crampons. Just as Marc had told us, ‘the fabric can get damaged, but it won’t tear right through’. We still have that tent and continue to travel with it. The fabric really does hold up and doesn’t tear. It proves that Marc gives us honest and accurate information. Some tents are more expensive, but they’re worth the price.”
We bought this tent for our most recent trip, the Spantik expedition. We were looking for a strong yet lightweight tent that could withstand extreme weather conditions, including snow and powerful gusts of wind. Even during a severe thunderstorm, I felt safe inside this tent! It’s freestanding, which makes it easy to pitch on less straightforward terrain. The vestibule is also large enough to keep our backpacks and shoes dry and protected.”
“An exceptionally warm down jacket with a great fit. The two-way zip is very practical, as it can be opened from the bottom to leave enough room for a climbing harness. The hood can be adjusted to achieve a perfect fit and, if necessary, can be worn over a climbing helmet.”
“Our lightweight and compact MSR Reactor is a reliable travel companion. It’s ideal for boiling water quickly and efficiently and for melting snow. It also works well in windy and wet conditions. That means you can quickly get started on a delicious, energy-rich hot meal from Real Turmat.”
Kim’s Shocking Blue Neo, purchased in 2010, has never let her down, even on freezing-cold expeditions. Kim: “Marc gave us a great deal of advice about it when we bought it. We once spent a night in our tent when Igor was wearing all his clothes inside his sleeping bag and was still cold, while I was simply lying in my Valandré sleeping bag and had a really good night’s sleep.
