Arne (°1983) has a passion for ultra long distance hikes. He traversed the Pyrenees over the HRP in seven weeks, hiked the Via Alpina from Trieste to Monaco over five months, and crossed New Zealand from north to south along the Te Araroa trail. He combines his hiking experience with high-level mountaineering. Arne has been working at the Into The Arctic office since autumn 2022. He has been guiding expeditions for us since 2019.

As a child, Arne was already very passionate about nature, with annual family vacations to Austria instilling an early love for the mountains. Soon, it became clear that hiking alone was not enough and at 17 years old, Arne signed up for his first climbing course in the French Calanques.

After graduating, Arne dived into the world of ultra-long-distance hikes. In the summer of 2006, he hiked the Haute Route des Pyrénées for seven weeks. Not long after, the Via Alpina route opened, and in 2008, Arne roamed the entire Alpine arc, for five months. In 2010, Arne and his partner cycled a tandem bike from Belgium to Meteora in Greece. In 2012, he embarked on his first solo adventure, hiking the length of New Zealand over the Te Araroa trail over 5 months.

Not long after, he met his wife Katrien. They have two adventurous girls: Eena (°2016) and Lucie (°2018). They live in the green belt around Brussels. Together they embarked on multiple trips, including a nine-week trip through the Balkans with their own car and tent.

Arne's outdoor logbook:

• Has an active record of independent climbs and treks on six continents.
• In the years prior to becoming a dad, he spent almost as many nights in a tent as in his own bed.
• Has hiked the Haute Route Pyrenees, the Via Alpina and the Te Araroa (NZ).
• Besides rock climbing in Yosemite, Algeria, Morocco, Wadi Rum and the Lofoten Islands, he has also ticked off a list of longer rock climbing routes in the Alps, such as the Cassin on Piz Badile, the Contamine on Petites Jorasses and the Comici on Cima Grande.
• Next to his job at Into The Arctic, he also works a few days a week at K2 in Antwerp - one of Belgium's most reknown specialist outdoor stores. Arne is truly the gear geek at our office!
• Is an active instructor at the Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, where he mainly instructs rock climbing courses at Mount Coach. He is also editor of Monte, the magazine of the Federation.

Arnes favorite Into the Arctic destinations are the Eternity fjord expedition in Greenland, and Finland in early winter.