Once a year, Fort de Barchon is transformed into a true playground for cavers. Throughout the corridors, across the courtyard, and through the water, various rope courses wind their way through the fort, a unique opportunity for speleologists to sharpen their skills.

This year, a team of seven had planned an ambitious goal: completing all the courses in a single day. Since it tends to get crowded during the day, it was decided to start as early as 5 a.m. Not everyone was equally enthusiastic about such an early hour, so in the end five brave participants took up the challenge: Renzo, Kasper, Pim, Bram, and Boris. Arno and Gemma chose to stay in their tent a little longer, partly because of a late night caused by the noise from other people at the site.

By 8:30AM, they eventually joined the group, while Renzo had to leave to supervise the younger participants. The adventure continued, but along the way more people dropped out: Pim stopped after feeling unwell, and Boris decided to skip the water course in the afternoon. Gemma and Bram also ultimately did not complete that course.

One person held out until the very end: Kasper was therefore the only one to complete every course, officially earning the title of the strongest Spekul caver of the Barchon weekend!

Below you’ll find a few photos, and on our Instagram you can also watch a short video.

On the weekend of April 11, it was time once again for our annual trip to Hotton. As always, we stayed in the chalet of the Belgian Speleological Federation. This hut has no electricity or running water, which makes the experience even more enjoyable! Large amounts of cheese and wine were consumed, so it can only be considered a success.

This year, there were 13 of us, and we visited three caves (Beron-Ry, Réseau des Fresnes & Abîme de Beaumont). We also went climbing on the rock massif near the chalet. Below are some photos.