Eindhovense Studenten Alpen Club - ESAC

Last week, next to our normal introweekend, the ESAC also organised a hiking trip! Despite the heat, we went to the Mullerthal to hike and enjoy nature.

On Sunday the group hiked most of Route 1, taking a bus to finish the last few km (though some walked it all, finishing around 21:00!). After dinner and jumping into the river to cool off a bit, we went to sleep.

On Monday, we hiked along a shorter section along a forest stream from Beaufort to the Schiessentümpel, after which we took the bus back to get some icecream and get to our cars.
Overall a very nice weekend, with a bunch of pictures (and blisters...) to remember it by!

After a few nail-biting days watching the weather forecast, we were able to go to Vosges du Midi to climb on some beautiful pink sandstone!

On Saturday the climbing started after a long drive, in Kuhfels, nicely shaded by the forest and a roof. Climbing started easy, with nothing bellow 6a, and Daniel managed to send a first for him: a 7b!

After a nice unexpected gluten-free dinner and a good night’s sleep, we were ready to start climbing again at the Kronthal. We climbed under the roof where Aloha (9a) cand be found to avoid a sprinkle of rain. Mihnea and Misha valiantly projected a 7a, which eventually turned out to be a 6c…

Going into the thirdy day, a morning of climbing was planned in Grotte du Brotsch. There were some easier routes around the cave, but Daniel managed to get another first send for him: a 7a+! After cleaning the 7a+ ( ~1 hours), taking in the view and doing some last routes, we left back for Eindhoven.

Last weekend we went to Freyr for some old school climbing and some brie & beer ! 🧗🏼‍♀️

Packed with ambition we left Eindhoven on Saturday morning with the hope to find some sunny rocks... And we definitely found them! Bright blue skies welcomes us to Freyr, but Freyr didn’t make it easy on us. It’s slippery holds and sometimes brave bolt distances kept most of our ego’s in check. While some multipitchers were praying to the goose god🪿 at the top of Tête du Lion, other brave (or questionable) esac ers went swimming in the (freezing cold) Maas to escape the heat. Back at the bivak, things slowed down by a crackling campfire (which was of course made at the great initiative of Yeti), while everyone was enjoying some delicious Marry me chickpeas.
Sunday morning kicked off with the famous esac eggs and a trail run for some. Some more routes were sent before heading back home, sweaty and exhausted, but with big smiles. ☀️

Fun fact: this weekend, 5 klimco were sighted in their natural habbitat in Freyr, which might be a record in the last couple of years!

We had a lovely time climbing, and we also gained some new singlepitchers and multipitchers who passed their exams! Congrats to you all!

And a big thank you to the kader, kader in education, klimco, drivers and all the garlic cutters who made this weekend possible!

We had a lovely time single pitching in Grandes Malades and Beez this weekend!

On Saturday, we went to Grands Malades, where we had fun practising techniques & trying soapy holds. Luckily in the end only Jean-Luc needed big patience, when he was stuck as kio on the top of the rocks, without a rope, when the rain started pouring down 🌧.

So we went into Namur, saw the cool Citadelle of Namur and for some reason there was a huge golden turtle which was seen by a part of the group, whereas the other part was witnessing medieval fights!
In the evening, the risotto was tasty and the fire big & warm.

Sunday we went (some of us with a detour to a boulangerie to get eclairs, others with a short trail run in the morning) to Beez. We had a nice time climbing and a very succesful weekend too with 10/10 people passing their SP exams! Congrats to all👏🏻

And of course thanks to kader, KIOs, drivers, the klimco (and of course all the onion-and-garlic cutters and dish washers) for making the weekend possible!

Single pitch day in Moha!

Weather didn’t go to plan, so our climbing weekend became a climbing day. Rock conditions didn’t go to plan, so Maizeret became Moha! Nature & the bolting team of Maizeret had other plans, but our group made the most of it.

It was a beautiful day with some cold limestone in the morning, with many of our course participants leading outdoors for the very first time. The day was wrapped up by scouting for a new fries place in Vise 👀

Thanks to our kader and kader in education for making this climbing day possible!

Now, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for better conditions for the second SP weekend after the exams! 🤞

EPlaKKa 2026 was nothing short of legendary! 🧗

The competition brought together over 80 climbers to Neoliet Noord, including a considerable turnout of our Oude Ballen, to show that the ESAC spirit only gets better with age! 🍻

This might have been our best edition yet, and it wouldn’t have been possible without this amazing community and our partners. A massive thank you for the support and the incredible prizes:
benelux | | | | eindhoven | |

Huge congratulations to our 2026 podium finishers!
Beginner: 🥇 Geert | 🥈 Sanna | 🥉 Youri
Intermediate: 🥇 Saskia | 🥈 Remi | 🥉 Mihnea
Advanced women: 🥇 Liz | 🥈 Alea | 🥉 Charlotte
Advanced man: 🥇 Thomas | 🥈 Robin | 🥉 Daniel
Oude Ballen 🥇 Piet | 🥈 Johannes | 🥉 Mark

Thanks for coming, everyone! See you next year!

📸: Lou-Anne & Martynas

Multi-pitch weekend 2: Dave❄️

Despite an uncertain start due to the weather, the first day turned into a moody mix of 5 minutes of rain/hail and the occasional excitement of blue sky. The ambitious ones were protected from the rain by doing the overhanging multi-pitches, while the others tested their abilities on questionable grip. Nevertheless, everyone was genuinely content just to be there, hanging off the rock.
On the second day, we woke up to frozen cutlery and a bright blue sky. It was a brilliant but cold start to a day that stayed clear throughout—filled with sun, important lessons, and some “that’s why you wear a helmet!” moments.

Thanks to our dear kader and kader in education for making the weekend possible!

Soon we will start the single-pitch weekends with the course, but until then, stay tuned for Eplakka news! 👀

First multipitch weekend of the year: Carrière des Awirs! 🧗‍♂️

Climbing slabs on sunny weather (too toasty, some of us might say), cool mossy pitches and some scarcely bolted routes. Our course participants practiced new techniques on the rock and the independents had a great time trying & sending cool routes! The game changer of the weekend: hot chocolate service at the standplaats🤪.

Shoutout to our kader and kader in education for making this weekend possible!

See you this weekend in📍Dave!

Opening the 2026 season with a pungent classic: Knoflach! 🧄
(For the uninitiated: Koflach + Knoflook = a very aromatic weekend)

We had it all for the season opener: loong singlepitches, golden sun, some wind and a touch of spicy wet rocks, which was great for trad! In the evening, we had some fun playing board games with the USAC in the Freyr hut + specialty beer.
This was just the warm-up. Starting next weekend, you’ll find us more on the rock for the Multipitch and Singlepitch courses!

🧗‍♂️Don’t forget to bring a cake in the next weekends!

We waren lekker beez-ig of in de woorden van introkiddo Milan:

Als je daar op 25 meter hoog je uit alle macht aan een rotswand probeert vast te klemmen, schiet er 100 keer door je hoofd: WTF waarom doe ik dit?
Voetje voor voetje ga je toch maar zwetend verder. En dan… ben je opeens boven! En dan weet je het weer: Klimmen in het wild is super vet! En zeker met deze toffe groep mensen en instructeurs.
Maar ook klote eng.