22-year-old Belgian YouTuber Storm De Beul, who became famous on YouTube for his channel StormOutdoorsy, died after he was caught in a strong snowstorm during a solo hiking trip in the remote Jokkmokk region of Swedish Lapland. That accident at the end of October 2024 sent shock waves among his family, fans, and outdoorsmen, reminding all who knew him how he enjoyed adventure and risk taken from most extreme environments.
Storm De Beul had spent a good deal of the year documenting his solo adventures through some of the most remote and harsh landscapes in Europe, posting them on his popular YouTube channel, StormOutdoorsy.
On October 29, 2024, Storm-a lone trekker-was caught in a powerful blizzard while trekking through Swedish Lapland. Despite extreme weather conditions, he could send a final message to his grandmother, trying to reassure her even as the storm worsened. “It’s snowing heavily here. But don’t worry, I’ll survive, you know,” he said in his message.
Along with the message to his grandmother, Storm sent a video to a friend. The footage revealed the complete extent of the worsening storm: Snow was filling his backpack and shoes, and the fierce winds were battering his tent. “Tonight, it’s going to get worse. Jesus Christ,” he said in the video-a hint of concern now threading his voice-but otherwise sounding resolute, even while showing little fear with conditions rapidly deteriorating.
His last moments were filled with a will to survive against the fury of nature. He reportedly had been just one day’s walk from his car to make his way to safety when he called the emergency services around 2 AM, informing them that he was injured and in need of assistance. Unfortunately, the unrelenting snowstorm delayed any immediate rescue efforts.
His mother, Elisabeth Rademaker, suspected the extreme weather might have pushed Storm out of his shelter. “Trees were uprooted that night. Maybe his tent also blew away and he had no choice but to start walking,” she said. While the recorded temperature that night was at -6°C, it felt like -18°C because of the wind-chill factor-a lethal combination as that turned out.
A search party left next morning in search of Storm, but extreme conditions prevailed: the search was slow and precarious. It was the following day, October 30, when his body was spotted, not very far from his tent; the lower part of the legs and feet showed an extremely bad frostbite condition, and the broken nose is believed to be proof of a fall while trying to face the storm’s fierce gusts of wind. It would appear that Storm had fought to live, but the odds were against him.
His body was finally recovered by rescuers under adverse conditions, but most of his belongings, including his camera, got buried under the snow and were never recovered. Bout De Beul, Wauthier’s father, has vowed that once the snow melts he will return to recover most of his son’s important belongings, particularly his camera.
His videos are the priceless legacy he has left us. But now his camera is there, somewhere in the snow, full of images from his very last trek. I would love nothing more than to get it back, he told the Belgian media. News of Storm’s death devastated the family. His mother, in particular, has been in a bad shape, often imagining the pain and fear her son may have gone through in his last moments. “He must have suffered for a long time and died alone. I keep imagining his last moments. It devastates me,” she said. The family is equally anguished by the fact that despite knowing the danger around him, Storm was determined to reassure them.
