Avalonia weekend

The weekend of 3 and 4 july was the first ESAC weekend after corona. We picked the weekend right after exams with a borrel at hubble the night before, 18 people signed up. As the hungover climbers started to arrive around 7:15, we split up the bouldermats and got last minute cooking equipment. 

In Avalonia, we hiked up a trail with all the mats, some snacks and too little water :)

Daniel, who maintains the area, sold us two topos and soon everyone was trying out the many boulders. Lots of overhang and many problems along with cookies, brownies and the encouraging shouting when someone was climbing hard.

A small group went early to swim in the Ruhr while the rest bouldered on. Tim and Nicole left early, but climbed a lot nonetheless. 

As the evening came, we went to the campsite and set up tents. The majority went for a swim while the rest was cutting mushrooms, a ton of onions, carrots and boiling pasta. Food turned out quite good, plenty of cheese was had and there were some leftovers too.

It was starting to drizzle so we set up a tarp and sat in a circle on bouldermats, camping chairs and Eva’s car. Drinking beers, listening to music and sharing stories.

The next morning started early, making three rounds of coffee on the big moka pot certainly helped. We got fresh buns, made eggs with onion to go along and filled coffee in empty beer bottles for those who forgot to bring their mug. 

Before bouldering again we made a quick stop at the castle Hohensyburg to enjoy the view and take a group photo. Josh made it on the shot, but he had to sprint for the 10 second timer. We bouldered for a few hours, near the caves. Eva split up a delicious watermelon, when the rain began. Everyone took shelter under the rock overhangs as rain poured down and lightning strikes passed by. As the rain died down, one group took refuge in a cafe while the rest bouldered on in the sheltered caves (so much overhang). Songs were sung, huddled together under the rock, until we decided to pack up and go.

I went on to boulder again with my german friends and sister indoors, the rest went back to Eindhoven and had pizza together. Overall I really enjoyed organizing and going on the weekend with everyone, it was super fun and many laughs were had :)

WACO walk

Tropical weather, watermelon, and people with a summer spirit makes a great combination for a summer walk! The 10^th of June, the WACO organized a walk to the Eckart Wandelpark. The theme was a summer, so with a stunning 27 degrees Celsius the theme was definitely appropriate!

Around 19.30 everybody gathered at the bridge at the Dommel opposite from Hubble and it was Leander from the WACO who welcomed us and explained what route we were going to walk. Ready for the walk, we took off with everyone. Johannes had taken a watermelon to everyone’s delight, so even before leaving TU terrain, most people were enjoying a piece. Furthermore people took some drinks for on the way as well.

We quickly encountered the Karpendonkse Plas, and walked around it, on the way to the forest. Then in the forest, there was a path we could follow, with some obstacles like trees and puddles on the way. People with white shoes quickly found it was not the best choice. Then after walking through the forest for a while, there was a surprise attack of mosquitos. The friendly mosquitos did not leave our side until we were almost back.

Then when we came back to the Karpendonkse Plas, we made a stop to drink something. The WACO also supplied us with a chocolate, to brace ourselves for the last hefty kilometer. Finally we returned to the place we took off and thanked the WACO for their formidable organization. I really liked the walk, and I can recommend joining the next one to everybody!

Scavenger hunt

On a fairly cold Thursday evening, on a day just before we were granted one hour more of evening sunshine by the transition to summer time and one hour less of avondklok by Hugo, the WACO scavenger hunt happened! For many a welcome opportunity to get outside and do some socializing at a responsible distance. The participants were challenged to use a map to find nine marked checkpoints (that were sometimes surprisingly remote and muddy for being in the middle of Eindhoven!) and do assignments when they got there. For some the navigation was easy, for others it was surprisingly challenging – perhaps that indicates you need to come along to more WACO events? 

The event resulted in some great pictures that are visible above, including people replicating a victorious Sigrid Kaag, an all-snugged-up Bernie Sanders, balancing brooms, and lots of silly faces. We from the WACO enjoyed hosting the event and getting valuable feedback; we’re still searching for what formula fits best in these strange times – we can hope there won’t be need for this much longer and get to good old fashioned walks later this year!