
What defines me?
Authenticity, being connected, love for nature, challenging, discipline
What I most love in life...
Learn and evolve, serve, live now, enjoy, challenge myself
What do I mean for X-plore?
CEO, visionary, project manager, guide and facilitator
Competences
International Mountain Leader (UIMLA), Arctic Guide Level III (WGA), Physical Educator
GERARD VAN DEN BERG
He has enjoyed nature for as long as he can remember. Born in 1975, he grew up in a small town in the central east of the Netherlands, between the green fields and the beautiful forest of Veluwe, a mountain range of forested hills, in the province of Gelderland. He earned a master’s degree in physical education, specialising in outdoor activities and special education, organising camps and adventure and survival courses for youth and adults in various parts of Europe, including an experimental rehabilitation program for young offenders.
As a Wilderness Guide (WGA), Arctic Specialist (Arctic Guide Level III – WGA), International Mountain Leader (UIMLA), and High Altitude Mountain Guide Gerard offers people adventurous and educational experiences around the world. His professional leadership allows us to offer authentic and meaningful experiences in remote places and capitals of adventure and culture on the planet. You are comfortable offering comprehensive and professional services in challenging, natural and offbeat environments. His experience led him to work as a Specialist in wild areas, security and logistics for national and international television production companies. As a creator and facilitator of Wilderness Trails, Gerard organizes and facilitates personal development programs in nature and in unique natural settings.
Always seek evolution through challenge, being outdoors and learning from others and nature through each experience. Adapting a healthy lifestyle, practicing understanding, critical thinking, and developing an everyday awareness make you a happy person.
Email:gerard@x-ploregroup.com

What defines me?
Creative, imaginative, restless, decisive, dreamy
What I most love in life...
Travel with my family, apply my experiences to my profession
What do I mean for X-plore?
Product creator and guide in Iceland
Competences
Experience and knowledge at the service of your imagination
DAVID TAURÀ
He was born in Barcelona and, from a very young age, he became interested in knowledge of the territory and outdoor activities. He graduated in Geology and in the mid-90s he began his first Pyrenean activities and exits to the Alps where he ascends to Mont Blanc, Gran Paradiso, Ecrins, Monte Rosa and a long etcetera. In 2000 he travels for the first time to the Andes, making several ascents of 6,000 (Copa, Huascarán), a trip that is going to be a turning point in his life, becoming passionate about South America and the Andean countries. Since then, he has carried out numerous mountain expeditions and scientific projects to Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina.
In these years he founded the MadTeam Hiking Club with other colleagues. At the same time, it makes expeditions in other mountain ranges of the world such as the Moroccan Atlas, the Turkish mountains, the Balkans, the Carpathians, the Scandinavian Alps, the Caucasus, the Ladakh mountains (Indian Himalayas), in the Kurumdy massif (Pamir) or in the Kun-Lun mountain range (China). He has written two trekking guides in the Andes and one of the Moroccan Atlas, published by Desnivel and Bubok.
David is a great connoisseur of all the territories and his great geographical knowledge, together with his ability to devise and his enthusiasm; make him a great ally for the design of your trips and expeditions.
Email:david@x-ploregroup.com

What defines me?
Generous, empathetic, demanding, enthusiastic, perfectionist
What I most love in life...
Help others, share, travel, enjoy family and friends, love nature
What do I mean for X-plore?
Financial Controller
Competences
Degree in Business Administration and Management from the University of Barcelona
ESTER GIMÉNEZ
Ester was born in 1973, in Badalona, a city and municipality in the Barcelonés region, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, which is located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. When she was born by the sea, she loves the sea and the beach, but from a very young age she began to discover the mountains, nature, first with her parents going to look for mushrooms and take a little excursion and, then, with friends, she started to do their first steps in hiking, mountain climbing, mountaineering, some climbing, canyoning, always ready to try and enjoy what nature offers.
He graduated from ADE at the University of Barcelona.
At the age of 20, he began to combine mountain escapes with traveling and, since then, discovering new countries, new landscapes, has become a passion and a way of life. Always thinking about the next trip. This has led him to visit many countries on six continents (Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania). In 2012 he had his only daughter, whom he has instilled in him since his love for the mountains, the passion for traveling and for discovering new cultures, new adventures. Since February 2018 he has been part of the X-PLORE team helping in the most bureaucratic part of the company, but enjoying the passion and experience that each of his colleagues brings.
Email:ester@x-ploregroup.com

What defines me?
Being nature, natural leadership, inspiring, dedication, knowledge
What I most love in life...
Diversity, movement, wild nature, family
What do I mean for X-plore?
Project manager, guide and facilitator
Competences
International Mountain Leader (UIMLA), Desert Guide Level II (WGA), Bsc Tropical Forestry and Nature Management
BRAM VON BLOMBERG
Bram is a restless person, curious and inspired largely by the natural environment, its functioning and interactions. His motivation is to find balance and unity between human beings and nature.
From a very young age he began to travel the world on foot and by bicycle touring Europe and Latin America autonomously before turning 20. After studying tropical forest management, he worked on conservation and sustainable socioeconomic development projects in the Ecuadorian Amazon, the Peruvian Andes, Costa Rica and the Sonora desert in Mexico before coming to live in Spain in 2005.
Since then, he has dedicated his professional career to the development of sustainable tourism projects based on nature, being responsible for the creation of specialised travel agencies such as ProNature Travel in Mallorca, EspirituNature in Madrid and, finally, as head of the Adventure & Nature department. in the largest emerging company in the tourism sector in the history of Spain, PANGEA, The Travel Store.
For X-plore Group, he is project manager, coordinator of the European Wilderness Education School (EWES) and guide / facilitator for Wilderness Trails. He is an International Mountain Leader (UIMLA), Wilderness Guide Desert level II (WGA) and has a Bsc Nature and Tropical Forest Management.
He lives happily with his family and four daughters in a small town in the Guadarrama Mountains, near Madrid, always busy around the house and orchard, surrounded by nature.
Email::bram@x-ploregroup.com

What defines me?
Passionate and restless, communicator, persevering, perfectionist and decisive
What I most love in life...
Friendship and family, learning and knowledge, sharing, teaching and the adventure of traveling
What do I mean for X-plore?
Product manager and anthropological and cultural travel guide
Competences
Degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Barcelona, Wilderness Guide Level I (WGA), Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WGA)
FRANCESC BAILÓN
From a very young age, Francesc felt curiosity and passion for learning about new cultures, which has led him to travel to more than 60 countries. Likewise, it has traveled a part of the Sahara desert, climbed some of the highest mountains in Europe and penetrated the jungles of Borneo, Brazil or Vietnam. An anthropologist by profession, he has carried out different field works in areas such as the Andes region, Amazonas or Yucatan. But his true place in the world is in the Arctic, where he has already carried out more than 35 expeditions, most of them to coexist with the indigenous communities of the polar regions.
His great vocation is teaching and he is a professor in senior university classrooms where he combines scientific dissemination with social work. In addition, he is a writer and his published works include: “The poets of the Arctic. Greenland Stories ”(2012) and“ The Inuit. Hunters of the Great North ”(2015). In addition, he is a contributor to the National Geographic magazine and the radio program “Els viatgers de la Gran Anaconda” (Catalunya Radio). Likewise, he has worked as an adviser in Inuit culture in the movie “No one wants the night”, directed by Isabel Coixet.
He loves his work because he pursues his dream, and he always seeks to enrich himself as a person through contact with nature and human beings. If anything excites you it is the peace, the silence, the stillness and the purity of an arctic landscape.
A phrase that defines it: “Always be yourself and explain the adventure of life that you have wanted to live.”

What defines me?
Tranquility, Resolute, Happiness, authenticity, connection
What I most love in life...
Tranquility, Resolute, Happiness, authenticity, connection
What do I mean for X-plore?
Project manager, guide, facilitator
Competences
International Mountain Leader (UIMLA), Arctic Guide Level II (WGA), Mountain Guide for blind people
JOSÉ ARCO
José grew up near Sierra Nevada, Granada. That has made her love of mountains an important part of her life, and she has taken advantage of many opportunities to explore mountainous regions around the world. Over the past decade, he has developed his skills as a mountain and arctic guide and instructor while working outdoors around the world. In 2014, he stopped his IT engineering job and has been fully dedicated to his professional activities as a mountain leader and arctic guide ever since.
He studied mathematics at the University, but he has always been training in all areas related to the mountain, climbing, mountaineering, survival … and, above all, he has taken every opportunity to enjoy the mountain and share it with friends and now with the people he guides. to almost all parts of the planet.
His heart is divided between Granada, where he was born, and Barcelona, where he lives with his wife and young daughter. His free time is for family, friends, his guitar, training and education. He always has new professional and personal projects in mind and, above all, he enjoys, enormously, helping to connect people with nature in a very profound way.

What defines me?
Calm, resilient, adventurous, caring, subservient
What I most love in life...
Share, learn, connect, explore, travel
What do I mean for X-plore?
Guide, Basecamp manager
Competences
Wilderness Guide Level I (WGA)
DANI LÓPEZ JURADO
Daniel was born in November 1994 in Castelldefels, twenty kilometers from the city of Barcelona. He grew up in the city and also between the sea and the mountains. From a very young age he began to travel the world and work as a guide in northern Europe. Later, he was instructed by the Wilderness School and ended up specializing in the Arctic. He has also worked as an instructor in survival techniques and bushcraft in different environments.
Dani leads trips and expeditions in remote places where nature offers unique and sometimes challenging landscapes and moments. His experience and training have led him to be a passionate interpreter of nature, thus being able to share authentic experiences with safety and respecting the environment.
His interest in discovering new landscapes has led him to travel across four of the continents, getting to know and soaking up new cultures and ways of life. His passion became his current job, which for him has no other purpose than to share what his eyes see, raise awareness and reconnect people with nature. He claims that his happiness is exploring the world and eventually changing landscapes. Lover of silence, the roar of the ocean and music.

What defines me?
Positive, joy of living, wanderlust, curious, creative
What I most love in life...
My family, my guide job, nature, learning new things and chocolate!
What do I mean for X-plore?
Guide, facilitator
Competences
International Mountain Leader (UIMLA), Wilderness Guide Level I (WGA)
ELKE LÄSSER
Born in Austria, she discovered as a child her passion for nature by skiing and walking in the Alps. After some years traveling and working in different parts of the world, she decided to move to Spain and has been living with her husband and daughter in Mallorca for more than 20 years. She turned her hobby into his profession and works as a mountain guide. She greatly enjoys sharing experiences and learning with and through her clients. She continues to be fascinated by experimenting on her own skin and seeing the effects of activities in the middle of nature, and she loves to highlight the wonderful, sometimes tiny, details of different times and places.
Communicative and outgoing she considers having “the best job in the world.”

What defines me?
Rational, dreamy, creative, proactive, empathetic
What I most love in life...
Learn, propose, reflect, help, and find points of view
What do I mean for X-plore?
Project manager, Basecamp manager
Competences
Many!
ÀNGEL PANICELLO
Àngel was born in a small fishing community on the Catalan coast (Cambrils), which he continues to use as a base for trips and projects in a wide range of countries such as France and Norway.
Ángel has a strong social motivation and always finds an example in nature to use in his training programs. Business and management development are the solid foundation of his professional career.
As an athlete he is passionate about sea kayaking, trail running, climbing, surfing and rafting, having been former director of one of the largest agencies in Spain for active and adventure travel.
As an athlete he is passionate about sea kayaking, trail running, climbing, surfing and rafting, having been former director of one of the largest agencies in Spain for active and adventure travel.

What defines me?
Patience, perseverance, improvement, discover new places, live an adventure
What I most love in life...
Be happy, have good friends, grow every day, be connected with nature, share my life
What do I mean for X-plore?
Guide, instructor
Competences
International Mountain Leader (UIMLA), Arctic Guide Level II (WGA), Mountain Ski Instructor (FEEC)
DAVID BOIX
He was born in Manresa, halfway between Barcelona and the Pyrenees, in the spring of 1972. His relationship with the mountain did not start very young. It wasn’t until after adolescence that he discovered this fantastic world. For him it was like opening the treasure chest. In the mountains he found emotion, tranquility, solitude, companionship, adventure … and countless places and magnificent corners. There was always something different to see or do depending on the area or the time of year. Little by little, this hobby became his great passion.
After a few years, he realized that one of the things that filled him most was sharing his passion for the mountains with people. He understood that training well and learning is really important to enjoy the mountain in complete safety. And so he decided to be a mountain guide. Accompanying, teaching and sharing experiences with someone who has the same concerns is a privilege for him.
Most people are not just looking for a guide, they want someone with whom to share their experience, their adventure. As an International Mountain Leader (UIMLA), Arctic Guide or Mountain Ski Instructor, you not only want to be the one who gives security, knows the route or makes decisions in difficult times, you like to feel like one of the group, share with them the feelings and emotions and that people perceive that together they form a better team. He has enjoyed guiding and getting to know countless countries, in totally different areas and climates.
Think of life as continuous learning, where each new challenge, trip or expedition is an opportunity. For him, working as a mountain guide is not a job, it is a dream come true.

What defines me?
Positive, friendly, thoughtful, confident experience
What I most love in life...
Sea, mountains, healthy food, Wilderness, take care of the planet, animals...
What do I mean for X-plore?
Guide, facilitator
Competences
High Altitude Mountain guide (UIAGM)
JOSETXU ESTÉBANEZ
from the bravest rivers or ravines and the peaks above 8,000 meters, to true depths and submerged caves are their playing field. A person who linked his love for the mountains and his work to the humanitarian side of his personality, having spent more than 25 years in the GREIM (Mountain Rescue Group), combining work and the drive to help those who, in difficult moments, need it.
Defender and lover of nature in its wildest state, this has led him to numerous expeditions in the 5 continents in search of challenges where the person is only one more piece in the wild nature. As a lover of that nature, his goal is to make everyone who falls within his grasp aware of the importance and the need to conserve the planet we live on … just as he says: «I am not fighting for a planet for my children, that I do not have, I fight so that your children can see the wonders that I have seen and for the inhabitants that live in it. Man is one more animal on Earth and, as such, he has to learn to live with the rest of the species with which he lives.

What defines me?
Responsibility, discipline, gratitude, passion, respect
What I most love in life...
Learn, wild nature, meet people, teach others, new challenges and feel (the air on my face, the hot / cold on my skin, smell the wet soil, listen to the flow of the water, see the horizon)
What do I mean for X-plore?
Guide
Competences
International Mountain Leader (UIMLA), Arctic Guide Level II (WGA), Director of Nivology and Avalanches courses (ACNA)
RAMON DIES
His grandfather taught him to love nature. He just learned to walk, he was already going with his grandfather to the mountains around his house to see foxes, roe deer, hares or birds. He was born in 1976 and has grown and enjoyed the Pyrenees ever since. He studied Physics and Biology at the Faculty of Barcelona and at the age of 22 he entered the Police Force of the Generalitat de Catalunya. For 17 years he belonged to the Special Area for the Protection of Persons, where he also collaborated as an instructor in mountain activities.
As a mid-mountain guide and Wilderness guide, he has guided expeditions and trips to National Parks of Canada, USA, Peru, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, France or Italy among others. He has made expeditions to different areas of the Russian Arctic such as Yamalia, Chukotka or the Taimyr. For Ramón, each expedition is a unique experience, an opportunity to learn and share. Guide work is not your profession but your passion. You need to live outdoors and feel connected to nature.
As a International Mountain Guide and Wilderness guide, he has guided expeditions and trips to National Parks of Canada, USA, Peru, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, France or Italy among others. He has made expeditions to different areas of the Russian Arctic such as Yamalia, Chukotka or the Taimyr. For Ramón, each expedition is a unique experience, an opportunity to learn and share. Guide work is not your profession but your passion. You need to live outdoors and feel connected to nature.
It is in the wild nature where you feel really happy.

What defines me?
Respect, calm, determination, knowing how to listen, natural
What I most love in life...
Climb, breathe, share, learn, and smile
What do I mean for X-plore?
Guide
Competences
International Mountain Leader UIMLA), Wilderness Guide Level 1 (WGA)
EDUARD LÓPEZ
Born in Palma de Mallorca in 1993, he lived in different places seeing different ways of living life, introduced to the mountain thanks to the family he began to appreciate nature, learn from it and decide where he wanted to focus his lifestyle.
Obviously, the answer was the mountain, he obtained the titles of technician in Medium Mountain and technician of Snow Surf, working in the Pyrenees in the winter and summer season. Little by little he opened up to the world out of curiosity to see and travel in different destinations and continents, on his own initiative and through different guide work.
He attended the EWES Wilderness Leader Course where he opened the comfort zone and was nourished by new experiences.
He is comfortable with the cold and snow, but also in milder climates, understanding that, in the end, what brings him life is spending time in nature.
He likes to take each person into account and understand each other’s thoughts with communication, wanting to learn from everything the world has to offer.
Understanding that, with an activity, we also share an experience that makes us grow as conscious people.

What defines me?
Involvement, versatility, resolution, understanding, passion for nature
What I most love in life...
Listen, learn, help, share experiences, explore the unknown
What do I mean for X-plore?
Guide
Competences
International Mountain Leader (UIMLA), Wilderness Guide Level 1 (WGA)
RAFA CARRASCO
Rafa, a nature lover, grew up in a small town near Barcelona where, since he could walk, he started going with his grandfather to the mountains to observe wildlife, search for wild food and walk for hours. Even growing up in a “city atmosphere”, he has always spent his free time delving into nature. It is there that you have understood why we were born on this planet and how much we can learn from it. Being in nature is a continuous meditation for him.
He has practiced activities in the natural environment for most of his life, the most common being hiking and climbing. After visiting countless natural environments, you have had the opportunity to observe wonderful places. Her favorite spots include the Pyrenees Mountains, the Scottish Highlands hills, the wildest forests in Norway and the Botswana savannah. He has also enjoyed learning from different cultures. He keeps a special memory of his experience with the Bushmen tribe of northern Namibia, some historical “survivors” who gave him infinite wisdom and knowledge about nature.
After the continuous personal and professional training that he has carried out in recent years, he currently has the title of International Mountain Leader (UIMLA) and Wilderness Guide Level 1 (WGA), where he has learned and improved the necessary techniques and skills. to accompany people on their trips, guarantee their safety and guide them into the unknown. She is passionate about sharing experiences with people, listening and learning from her knowledge. This makes him grow as a guide and especially as a person. This baggage has given him the opportunity to see how important nature is to the human being, this being one of the pillars of his philosophy of life: Take care of nature, since she has been doing it for you throughout life.

What defines me?
Enthusiasm, Knowledge, Adventure, Perseverance and Energy
What I most love in life...
Friendship, Adventure, Discover, Connect and Learn
What do I mean for X-plore?
Guide
Competences
International Mountain Leader (UIMLA), Wilderness First Responder (WFR), Torres del Paine National Park Guide
PABLO MAS
Born on the shores of the Mediterranean in 1989, he has always been attracted to nature and its secrets.
He studied Forest Sciences, working as an Environmental Educator where he began to combine his passions: showing the secrets of nature and trekking. Little by little, his path moved away from the classrooms to get closer and closer to the summits, ending, several years later, in the Mountain School of Aragon where he studied as a Medium Mountain Guide.
Accredited as an international Mountain Leader (UIMLA), he began to develop his profession in the French Pyrenees, Alps, and then work in Andorra and in the most emblematic National Parks in Spain.
He continued to pursue his passions, which increasingly led him further and further from his Mediterranean, landing in South America in 2017 to collaborate in river dolphin conservation projects in the Colombian Amazon.
Discovering that philosophy that exists in travel, he kept looking for those places and moments where life is lived more intensely, until ending up in the wild Patagonia, where he was trained as a guide to the Torres del Paine National Park, living for 3 years among the mountains , cougars and glaciers of the southern Patagonian ice field.
“We don’t go up the mountains to see, we go up the mountains to feel”