Years back I went spelunking in Belgium with a couple of friends, guided of course. We had already done the cave on an earlier trip so when we finally got to the large chamber at the end of the normal route, the guide got really serious and asked if we wanted to go deeper still. We didn't know that that was even a possibility as we already did the "long route" so we were intrigued. He then carefully explained that it technically was but that it was not part of the normal routes as it was very dangerous. He made sure that we knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into and after thinking about it for a while we just said f*ck it. Let's do it.

In order to go deeper we first had to go through a tiny belly-crawl hidden in a corner of that large chamber we were in. The belly-crawl passage was really slippery because of the clay sticking to its walls, moreso than the previous passages we had to take, and it immedeatly set a tone for the rest of the way since that would never really change. After that we ended up in another chamber, not as big as the one we just left, but with its cause of danger clearly visible. In the middle of that chamber was a huge hole, about 4 to 5 meters wide and with no bottom even visible. As far as I know that thing could have led straight to the depths of hell itself. If we wanted to progress we had to shimmy past it, but luckily there was a conviently situated waist-high outcrop more or less seperating us from the hole. So at that point, although scary enough already, there was no real danger yet and we could get a good up close and personal look at it. Starting at about 5 meters deep we could clearly see this tiny little ridge, just over half a meter wide, making its way up alongside the walls of the hole and ending at the level we were standing at. More or less. After that we continued on our way and eventually reached a shaft. And this is where it all became very real. This shaft led straight down for about 8 meters and ended up in a system of very small passages. We had to descend into that shaft with our arms and legs pressed against its sides. Just like the previous passage, these sides were also very slippery because of the clay and thus it would've been impossible to get back up again. So when I finally lowered myself into the shaft I just knew there was no going back anymore. Whatever that cave would throw at me, I would have to handle it if I ever wanted to get back out again. After only a minor slip-up halfway through I finally reached the bottom of that shaft after what seemed to be ages and my heart was already pumping like never before, but the scariest had yet to come. We had to take a left down there into another belly-crawl and that belly-crawl would eventually end up on that tiny little ridge running alongside the walls of the big-ass hole in the middle of the chamber. 5 meters lower now than where we stood before, we still couldn't see the bottom of that hole. Trying to make my way up that slippery ridge was probably the only moment I truly feared for my life. And to make things even more twisted, as a cherry on the cake: the ridge didn't even end at the "ground-level" of that chamber where the hole was at. No. It ended just before that. So we had to f*cking jump over the hole in order to get to safety. It was a makeable jump by all means but all the moments of me just tripping over my own feet or stumbling over a loose tile started to haunt me. Obviously everything turned out well but that was the scariest sh*t I've ever done man, I'm telling you. Nonetheless I'm glad we all did it. The euforia you feel after something like that is indescribable.