Who is behind this?
Andreas "Sancho" Querengässer, born in 1962, has lived in Swedish Lapland, near the Arctic Circle, for many years.
He got his trail name "Sancho" in his youth, long before such nicknames became common on North American long-distance trails. Hiking, biking, and being outdoors have been an integral part of his life ever since he was born. This was complemented by many years of intensive athletic activity, especially in track and field, running, climbing, and mountaineering.
A ruptured Achilles tendon and a demanding job brought that to a temporary halt. Instead, he took up dog ownership, or more precisely, sled dog ownership. Thirty years working with huskies were a fulfilling and eventful time – a time for which he remains grateful to his dogs to this day.
Since 2020, long-distance hiking and cycling tours through Europe have regained popularity. Between 2020 and 2025, he covered almost 9,000 km on foot and around 13,000 km by bicycle in 2024 alone.
What began as a childhood dream has now become his life: in 2025 he founded North of the sun Tours and has been writing ever since about what has always driven him: going out, moving on, arriving.
"I want to give interested people an insight into the uniqueness of Lapland and develop and promote awareness for the preservation of Mother Nature."
Excerpt from the tour biography
1980s and 90s
- Climbing and mountaineering in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, on the cliffs of the German Central Uplands and in the High Tatras
- Winter visits: Mala Fatra, Zapadne Tatry, Vysoke Tatry, Muntii Fagarash
- Numerous hikes from 3 days to 4 weeks in the low mountain ranges of Europe
- Numerous winter ski tours in the low mountain ranges of Europe over 2–4 weeks
- Several winters spent in the Yukon Territory and Alaska training huskies for the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race
- Hiking tours in the Himalayas in Nepal and Ladakh
2020 Hike of the northern part of the Kungsleden (Sweden) plus Nordkalottleden (Sweden, Norway), a total of 800 km.
2021 He didn't go hiking; instead, he completed a permaculture training course. He built an earth cellar on his property in Lapland, installed solar panels and a wind turbine, and has been living off- grid ever since.
2022 Thru- hike 'Sverige på längden' (Length of Sweden), approximately 3,000 km from Smygehuk to Treriksröset.
2023 Eisenach-Budapest EB hiking trail from Germany to Hungary via the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia (2,300 km) plus a bike tour from Budapest along the Danube to the "source" in Donaueschingen/Germany (1,400 km).
2024 Bike tour from Switzerland to the North Cape, then along the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Russian border (Grense Jakobselv). From there, a mountain bike tour (European Divide Trail) began, traversing all of Europe to Cabo de Sao Vicente, Portugal. A total of approximately 13,000 km.
2025 thru-hike hiking trail Eisenach-Budapest EB (2,700km).
Backcountry skit tours, from day trips to multi-day tours, are part of every winter here in Lapland.