An unconventional honeymoon

There are not many brand stories that start with a honeymoon, but this is how Andi and Heidi’s story began, and therefore EXPED’s. Venturing as greenhorns they set off into the Canadian wilderness with only a hatchet and a saw blade, they chose an area not far from the Arctic Circle and began to build the cabin they’d dreamt of, knowing the following months would be nothing short of a challenge.

Their intention was to get the maximum outdoor experience with minimal means, sourcing supplies and food from nature at every opportunity. Through perseverance, hard work, and a lot of trial and error they managed to survive for 9 months through the harsh Canadian Winter. In the spring of 1981, they took their cabin apart leaving no trace of the previous 9 months and returned home to Switzerland with no plan set for their future.

Living in the cabin taught Andi and Heidi many lessons, most importantly that knowledge and skills are indispensable. Knowing what to do and how to do it helped them through many challenging moments, whilst also proving that doing everything yourself takes a lot of time and effort. As the months passed, they also realised that the less equipment you have, the less complicated daily tasks are.

Over the next few years, they saw that outdoor products were becoming increasingly more complex and generic in their nature, something that ran counter to their experience of living outdoors in Canada. This drove their desire to create their own products that were high quality, durable and performance orientated. They also wanted the products to be built in ways that inflicted minimal impact on the environment, embracing the importance of simplicity and sustainability at the very heart of their philosophy.

They knew this was not something they were going to be able to do alone so started to build the EXPED family, forming close relationships with factories, partners and staff. Learning together how to create exceptional products whilst keeping their original philosophy at the forefront of everything they did. Although still a small team, the EXPED family has grown whilst maintaining their passion for the outdoors, and drive to make, create and develop the best products. Knowing they have a wonderful team behind them, Andi and Heidi, now in their 70s, are now much more free and unbound to get back into nature once more.

Savoie Mont Blanc (the Savoie and Haute-Savoie départements) is one of France’s most popular tourist destinations all year round – a brilliant region for mountain lovers both in winter and summer. The largest ski area in the world, with 112 resorts, this is a giant outdoor playground for families and others, with a huge array of sporting activities for children of all ages and for adults.

With a national park, two regional parks, many nature reserves and more than 100 passes, Savoie Mont Blanc is a paradise for hikers, mountain bikers and cyclists. Its four lakes – Geneva, Bourget, Annecy and Aiguebelette – can easily reach temperatures of 25°C. Savoie Mont Blanc also offers fantastic food and wine and has an incredible 34 Michelin-starred restaurants.