This is the first instalment in a five-part series from Hilleberg the Tentmaker exploring the question ‘What makes an adventurer?’
Hilleberg spoke with four inspiring people who have made adventure a big part of their lives. All four are quite different, but they have more in common than just their choice of tents…
This is an advertisement feature in partnership with our friends at Hilleberg the Tentmaker
When you picture an ‘adventurer’, what do you see? Some determined individual, head down, pushing the envelope in a remote locale and harsh conditions? At Hilleberg, we believe that if you head into the outdoors for more than a day, if you rely on a tent or a shelter, and if your journey has a bit of an unknown outcome, you are an adventurer!
We feel strongly that every adventure is valid – whether that’s a long, demanding winter trip, a big mountain climb, a weekend backpacking foray, or just introducing your kids to the outdoors on a summer overnighter. And we make our tents for everyone’s adventures.
In this series, we’ll highlight four adventurers who share the same innate sense of wonder and who – like you – are curious about what’s over the next hill. All have chosen to embrace the unknown and, armed with a Hilleberg tent, have set out to indulge their curious (outdoor) nature. Emily, Will, Felicity and Tilmann choose to spend their time outdoors because, simply put, it’s what they love to do – and their Hilleberg tents are a big part of their adventures.
At Hilleberg, we build our tents so anyone can have the safest possible night in the backcountry. Every tent shares the same essentials: double wall construction, linked inner and outer tents that allow for simultaneous pitching as well as separate use, and outer tent fabrics that are both lightweight and very strong – all to create a high margin of safety for any user, from expert to amateur, in any climate, and on any adventure.
Hilleberg tents offer you the possibility to explore your outdoor goals, no matter what they are. After that, it’s up to you to take your first steps into the unknown.
Watch this space for the rest of this series which will feature longer profiles of each of these adventurers.
EMILY FORD
Emily Ford has a joyous love for the cold. She is a professional gardener in the summer, so in the winters she takes to the snow and ice for long treks with her former sled dog Diggins, often in their Nammatj GT tent. In 2021 Emily became the first woman to complete Wisconsin’s 1200-mile Ice Age Trail in winter, and in 2022 she tackled a winter trek across Minnesota’s Boundary Waters over ‘Voyageur’s Highway’ along the border between the USA and Canada.
WILL COPESTAKE
Hilleberg ambassador Will Copestake – both the UK and Scotland’s 2015 Adventurer of the Year – is a kayaker, cyclist and climber who makes even the most demanding trip look fun. He has built his life around his outdoor passions, and he splits his time between northern Scotland and the Patagonia coast, exploring and working as a professional kayak guide, writer, photographer and videographer, often with his Allak or Soulo tents, and on group trips with his Altai.
FELICITY ASTON MBE
Felicity Aston MBE is a highly regarded polar explorer and researcher. The first woman to ski across Antarctica alone, she has completed numerous remote and demanding expeditions in both the Arctic and the Antarctic, often with Keron GT tents. What sets her apart, other than her impressive achievements (and her deep love for frigid landscapes), is a passion to share her appreciation for and dedication to preserve the polar environment.
TILMANN GRANER
Tilmann Graner is a professional bassoonist in Theater Nordhausen / Loh-Orchester Sondershausen in Germany. When he’s not playing music, he does his ‘playing’ in the outdoors, climbing and trekking all over the world. His ‘hobby’ – at which he is also a professional – is photography, and he commemorates each of his trips by capturing images of his surroundings, often including his Allak or Staika tents.
