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 | We found dead people.
entry by MindHacker
5/19/2008 2:06 PM
| I've put off writing this for... a year or so now. Because my roommate was gonna give me pictures. But he's a failure. So this is a year and a month late.
It was the night where we hit all the things we'd been meaning to do. So it was me, my gf at the time (Flibbertigibbet, not that she's ever on here ever), and my roommate. On the roster was roof of the main science building, and then the attic thereof.
First: The roof of the building. This had been a goal for a long time. We climbed each other onto the sub-roof, and then had to get to the roof one up. On the first attempt, we came without gear, and found that we could not reach the lip even with multiple people. We then had to lie beneath the edge of the roof (there is about a 18" wall of sorts), wait for campus security to pass, and then jump down and jog off in the other direction. This was all communicated by a grunt, urgent "get down" gestures, and a very paranoid looking roommate.
On the second try, we used a grappling hook. Or tried. Grappling hooks suck. Despite there being a very large, stable edge (as it appeared from a higher window) the hook refused to catch. This means that it was a toss-slide-CLUNK type action, and we quickly abandoned it and vacated the premises. This did, however, inspire the telescoping pole-based hook design that has served me well in other climbs.
<break-in-story: Boss wants me to do work>
<Resume: boss didn't actually tell me WTF to do>
And finally, to the night in question. Dark clothes: check. Telescoping pole: check. Hook & Etriers: Check. We are go. Quick one on one up, top and bottom help the chick up, and a simple jump - grab-arms - pull and we're all on the first roof together. Tape the hook to the pole, Biner the end-to-end etriers to the hook, extend the pole. We have one person posted as a lookout, and it is easy as cake this time. The extended pole reaches the perfect length. Hook the lip, rip the pole off and leave it on roof 1, and up the etriers we go. I had a spotter, just in case. Get up, reseat the hook, and the other two join me, and start creeping up roof 2. Keeping low, close to the building. Meanwhile, people appear. We just sat on the other side of the roof (it was a circular cone type thing) until they walked by / I stuffed my hook/webbing in the bag, and joined them. We had a 3' elevation difference between roofs, with a gutter on the upper roof. Which, as any climber knows, sucks. Gutters are so easy to break / don't support like any weight. I crouched there like a horsey, and my roommate climbed onto roof three. He helped the womanfolk, and I followed, being pulled up with an awkward step as we transferred to roof three, and scampered to the flat area on top.
Roof three, well, wasn't that interesting. There was a sense of accomplishment though, and thats worth something. Got to inspect some interesting vents, climb into and then out of the always-locked fenced in stargazing area, and then we chilled under the AC units, which were pumping out a pleasantly warm breeze. Perfect for cuddling under. So we did that and watched a game of frisbee, before heading back down in the same manner that we got up, only I had to half-climb / half jump between roof 2 and roof 1, as I had to take the hook down. That said, it wasn't too hard, and I probably could climb up it with a bit of practice.
So we get down and get to wandering around... and start figuring out what else we could climb. ... Which I had an answer at the ready for: the scaffolding! Renovations / wasting students money meant that there was a scaffold up the back side of a building, and it was on the back of campus / nice and secluded. So we get to the building, wander around back, and start up the scaffolding. Until we realize that there's a prof at their computer just chilling. My gf's politics prof, to be specific. After 5 minutes we decide she's never going to turn around and just creep up silently. It's pretty safe-feeling almost all the way up. They bolted it in to the building at one spot too, which kept it stable. But sitting on the very top... well... That just never feels entirely safe, what with no handholds. So, of course, we do just that. Pretty view of the river, we watch security drive by 60' below, just chill... and get bored. Luckily, the midnight-grader is gone by the time we go by, so we don't have to worry about that.
We are feeling good at this point. So, of course, we go for broke. The attic! Getting access proved to difficult the year before (SFIC locks, all installed properly, the tops of the elevator shafts were even sealed! I managed to find a spot to butterknife a lock, but that depended on how well seated it was. Tonight, it was closed). But due to money-wasting, I mean renovations, a lab was being redone. Which meant there was an access way. sliding plywood over and climbing a ladder that the drywallers left lying out for us, we climbed up into the rafters and onto the walkways. It's pretty cool, like an abandoned, 50year old attic should me. Sorta has a feel of a boardwalk in a bog, as we wandered around in the almost-black, our safe wooden walkway escorting us to various machinery and shed-like structures (for the elevator machinery?). We found a telescope and some padlocked roof access, but we now had no reason to go pick a lock at an awkward overhead angle. Then we transferred to part-2 of the attic. Which was marked by a metal door. Metal! Part two was not nearly as cool. Since it was built later, it was all cement and air conditioning and all. But it was pretty big, and we had to duck under tubes, and then we found the storage area for the museum. Random lighting fixtures, national geographic magazines from the 1930's, and miscellaneous boxes. And a coffin. A small, narrow, black coffin, lying almost in the center of the area, a bit to the left. And this was all by the light of our pocket flashlights and a green laser, giving everything an eeiry twinge. Well. We had to. So we popped it open (the lid wasn't fixed down), only to find it filled with puffy lace. Which of course meant the vampire was out hunting.
There was a larger box in the corner though. 7' long, 2' across, 18" high... and I though.. now, what would you need a box that large for? Well... I went over and peaked in. !. How about that. I called my fellow explorers over. And unveiled my find. Cool! Eww! It was a skeleton! A real dead human skeleton (we checked for markings and discolorings from cartilage and all, and it looked spot on. Even the texture was right after we could steel ourselves up to touch it.) Well, actually, one and a half skeletons. There was a ribcage and head of a smaller skeleton (adolescent?) nestling in the rib cage of the other. Which is kinna weird if you ask me, but hey. I found a body. Thats like one of the holy grails of UE.... after getting to the other end of the basement, we also found a light switch, which made it much less morbid and creepifying (bonus points if you get the reference). Then, we looked for stationary to steal(didn't find any) and returned to the apartment where, following the general pattern, we shoulda had a drink. But we didn't have anything to drink, so we just chilled / went to bed.
  
[last edit 12/10/2009 4:13 AM by MindHacker - edited 3 times]
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