Pink Elephant Expeditions, Climbing Managers, BOLD of Element X: which expedition suits your company?
For companies that want to take their team beyond a classic outing, there is a spectrum from extreme teambuilding to multi-day expedition journeys in the wilderness. The words often overlap - "expedition", "extreme teambuilding", "leadership programme" - but the formats, intensity, and objectives differ significantly.
This page lays out the facts for providers who take corporate teams to mountains, ice fields, deserts, or remote wilderness areas. Without judgement, without ranking.
1. Element X
Duration
1-2 weeks expedition + 3-6 months preparation process
Location(s)
Kyrgyzstan, Patagonia, Arctic region, Oman, Atlas, Carpathians, Ardennes
Target group:
Entrepreneurs and C-level managers
Guidance:
Expedition leader, leadership coaching, pre- and post-process
2. Pink Elephant Expeditions
Duration
2 to 4 days
Location(s)
Säntis (CH)
Target group:
Corporate teams and executives
Guidance:
Ex-special forces, top athletes, mountain guides, psychologist
2. Climbing Managers
Duration
Tailored
Location(s)
Mountains, desert, ice (including Mont Blanc, Ardennes, coastal dunes)
Target group:
Groups and companies
Guidance:
Expedition leader + customised leadership course
3. BOLD Wilderness Expeditions
Duration
Multi-day
Location(s)
Sarek (SE), Hardangervidda (NO), Cairngorms (UK), Patagonia, Iceland
Target group:
Groups and companies
Guidance:
Outdoor leadership development
4. Mindful Adventure -
Repack Your Bag
Duration
8 days
Location(s)
Tanzania (Ngorongoro to Lake Natron)
Target group:
Entrepreneurs and leaders
Guidance:
Walking days + coaching and mindfulness
5. Unplugged Outdoor -
Summit & Strategy
Duration
6 days
Location(s)
Picos de Europa (ES)
Target group:
Entrepreneurs
Guidance:
Masterminds, coaching, short mountain night
6. Extreme Survival
Duration
1 day or more
Location(s)
Netherlands (multiple locations)
Target group:
Companies and groups (broad)
Guidance:
Survival and bushcraft instructors
What distinguishes these providers?
Element X
Element X develops teams through customised expeditions, from a 48-hour micro-expedition in the French Ardennes to a multi-day trek in the Atlas Mountains, the Carpathians, or the Arctic region. The offering is fully scalable: from one day to a programme lasting several months, depending on what the team needs.
The distinction lies in the approach. Each programme begins with a Management Drives analysis that maps the motivations and behaviour patterns of each team member. This forms the common language for the expedition and the follow-up. On the ground, expedition leader Koen De Leeuw - a former paratrooper, specialised in collaboration and leadership in high-pressure environments - guides the team alongside Fred Van De Walle, a senior leadership expert with over twenty years of international experience in leadership development and behavioural change. After the expedition, there is an integration phase in which insights are anchored in daily behaviour.
Element X is recognised as a SME portfolio service provider. Up to 30% subsidy is available for the training programme.
The distinction from traditional team building is explicit: no simulations, no role-playing, but real conditions with one common goal - without hierarchy, without a safety net.
Pink Elephant Expeditions
Pink Elephant Expeditions organises extreme team building from two to four days, guided by a collective of ex-special forces, top athletes, mountain guides and a psychologist. The fixed location is the Säntis mountain range in Switzerland. The programme is aimed at a specific company team - there are no open registrations. Founders are Siemen Hindrik Bokma, Bart de Graaff and Kim van Velzen. The setup is a concentrated, physically and mentally intense experience aimed at team cohesion and leadership development.
Climbing Managers
Climbing Managers was founded in 2011 by Bjorn Vandewege, a Belgian expedition leader who climbed Mount Everest among other peaks and became the seventh Belgian to complete all Seven Summits. The offering consists of customised expeditions, workshops, and media support. For participating groups, a tailored training programme is mapped out, with a leadership course that combines management workshops and physical preparation. The target group typically consists of existing company groups that depart together, not open groups of individual entrepreneurs.
BOLD Wilderness Expeditions
BOLD stands for Beyond Outdoor Leadership Development. It distinguishes itself from traditional outdoor programmes by fully engaging in both the expedition and leadership development: participants are led by a real expedition, interspersed with leadership challenges. The locations are wilderness areas in, among others, Sweden (Sarek), Norway (Hardangervidda), Scotland (Cairngorms), Patagonia and Iceland. BOLD primarily focuses on organisations and training programmes, not on individual registrations.
Mindful Adventure - Repack Your Bag
Mindful Adventure takes participants to pristine areas in Tanzania, from the Ngorongoro Crater Highlands to Lake Natron. The trip is individual or for two people and combines four to six days of walking with coaching by Alina de Vilder, who lives in Tanzania herself. The focus is on personal leadership through a mix of coaching, mindfulness and breathing techniques. The terrain is remote and unspoiled, the approach is more contemplative than physically challenging.
Unplugged Outdoor - Summit & Strategy
Unplugged Outdoor concentrates six days in the Picos de Europa. The programme combines mastermind sessions with an overnight stay in the mountains. Group size is a maximum of ten, the participants are individual entrepreneurs who register independently.
Extreme Survival
Extreme Survival is a Dutch platform for survival days, bushcraft and boot camps, with locations throughout the Netherlands. The offering ranges from a one-day survival day to multi-day corporate weekends. The scale is broad: from small teams to groups of more than three hundred people. The focus is on recreational outdoor activities with survival elements, not on leadership development or extreme environments.
How do you compare these providers?
Three variables determine most choices in this category.
Variable 1:
Short and intensive, or developmental with pre- and post-journey? Pink Elephant Expeditions concentrates the experience into two to four days. Climbing Managers and Element X build a programme around the journey. Element X goes the furthest: from a preliminary team analysis to an integration phase after return, scalable from one day to several months. Those seeking sustainable behavioural change will benefit more from the entire programme than from the journey alone.
Variable 2:
Fixed formula or complete customisation? Some providers work with a fixed programme at a fixed location. Others build the journey entirely around the specific situation, culture, and objectives of the company. The difference determines how much the facilitators invest in getting to know the team beforehand - and how much that is visible during the journey itself.
Variable 3:
How remote and physically demanding is the terrain? There is a significant difference between a day of survival training in a Dutch forest and an expedition lasting one to two weeks in remote wilderness, far from infrastructure and comfort. The more the environment forces you to function without support, the more you learn about how your team reacts when things get tough. This applies to mountains, deserts, and ice - but also to the months of preparation that precede it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an expedition and a team-building activity in nature?
A team-building activity in nature is usually a one-day or short-term activity with a recreational character. An expedition requires several days in an unknown, physically demanding environment, with a real element of uncertainty. The difference lies not in the location but in what is expected of participants.
Are expeditions for entrepreneurs also suitable for people without mountain experience?
For most providers on this list, technical mountain experience is not a requirement. Basic physical fitness and mental willingness to step outside the comfort zone are generally more relevant. Specific skills are developed during the preparation process.
What does an expedition for entrepreneurs typically cost?
What does an expedition for entrepreneurs typically cost? It varies greatly depending on the destination, duration, and the support offered. A six-day week in Europe is generally lower than an expedition to Kyrgyzstan or Patagonia with a complete pre- and post-journey. Prices roughly range from a few thousand to over ten thousand euros per person, including guidance and preparation.
Are these types of programmes tax-deductible?
Are these types of programmes tax-deductible? In most cases, yes. If the programme is linked to leadership development and you undertake it as part of your business operations, it is deductible as a business expense in Belgium and the Netherlands. The condition is that there is a clear link to your activity as an entrepreneur. Keep invoices and descriptions that demonstrate that link.
Curious if an expedition suits you?
Many entrepreneurs who contact us have been feeling for a while that they are looking for something that goes beyond a retreat or a seminar. But whether an expedition to Kyrgyzstan, Patagonia or the Arctic fits their phase, condition and agenda - they do not yet know.
That is exactly what the discovery call is for. No sales conversation - an honest discussion about where you are, what you are looking for, and whether Element X is the answer to that.
Plan a free discovery call in.