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UER Forum > Canada: Alberta / BC > Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels. (Viewed 1883426 times)
mikejpc 


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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2760 on 9/25/2009 8:32 AM >
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Posted on Forum: Infiltration Forums

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KublaKhan 


Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
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With Satan, it's always gimmie, gimmie.

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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2761 on 9/25/2009 10:46 PM >
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Never seen these before.




"The truth is knowable. But probably not, ever, incontrovertible."
--Don DeLillo
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J Peterman 


Location: Victoria B.C.
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I'm going hunting for mysteries, cover me.

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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2762 on 9/26/2009 12:26 AM >
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Did anybody else notice the 4 manholes in a row billowing out thick smoke today downtown around 3:00?

Those pictures are a great find. Nice work.



[last edit 9/26/2009 12:28 AM by J Peterman - edited 1 times]

I'm going hunting for mysteries, cover me.
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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2763 on 9/26/2009 12:44 AM >
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Cool pix. Some fine finds.
And JP......just a few days ago, school was severely interrupted when the city, in an attempt to improve mapping of the sanitary sewers, pumped smoke down, which, in turn, came pouring up through the drains right into school. And since it was from the sanitary sewers, there were concerns that it contained methane and H2S. The building was billowing smoke, and the fire department was called to install fans to force it out. I found it was a nice excuse to head down to the beach.




TacDical 


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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2764 on 9/26/2009 1:33 AM >
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i've noticed over the past few day's crews working, in the drains all over town esquimalt sannich keating downtown, i had a letter sent to my house a few week's ago saying they were going to be steaming out the drain's but hadn't seen anything since




We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained we must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature.

TacDical 


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Who know's what's below

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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2765 on 9/30/2009 6:11 PM >
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This morning at the stroke of 3:00am NijaKlutz and myself embarked on another exploration. this time Under james bay, as far as either of us know, we are the first to enter this drain, as neither of us have seen any posts on it. this was a very nice drain there was about 4 chamber area's one end and two others down by the outflow. this drain was probably about 4-5 ft which was bigger than we had anticipated, it ran few block's further than we had expected,now a couple thing's that caught my interest was at each end there was a chamber one end split off ( t junction) and the other end at the outflow was a huge round chamber (NK has photo's of that)


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Now my favorite part of this drain is not actually part of this drain. as i was taking the lead and NK followed behind i stoped by a pipe to take a look threw and what did i see.


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Interesting? we thought so. we decided to go threw NK took the lead as he is a bit smaller than me, when he got threw to the other side and told me it was clear to go threw, i pushed our bag's threw and had to shimmy threw the pipe due to its size, both of us covered in muck by now, were pretty shocked and intrigued to what we found. a big rusty hinged cover open a crack, Nk didn't know if we would get it open but i gave it a little kick to loosen it off, then the two of us pried it opened to amazement....

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now it was hard to get a picture of the cover and what was inside due to both of our camera's fogging up very fast. i didn't realize untill today when i got to work that i had a somewhat of a clear picture to what we saw on the inside of that cover, because of the somewhat clear shot i will give you a tiny sneak peak into part of what we saw this was the last pic i snapped of the inside before my camera could not see anything

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i have a couple better pictures than that but i feel at the time being this is enuf to tickle your interest. pleasure exploring with you NijaKlutz we shall do it again.

On another note a few week's ago myself and and a trusted friend of mine that comes when he can (ill call mr. M) embarked on a journey late one friday evening. we entered the burrow i know this is an old one so i shall keep it short. it was definitely one of the most interesting drains as the structure changed a few times along the way threw i love how it is fully walkable i dont like the brick's missing on parts of the way threw in the bottom center of the drain it makes it hard to walk anyway here is a few pictures i took while i was down there

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there was so many key features to this drain which made it so fun i hope this one remains a secret

yet again on another not heres an actual tunnel i recently went into i have lots of pictures from recently and some from before i have played in these for longer than i can think of.

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and lastly heres one of a few pictures i took of something NK and myself found downtown

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im posting this pictures because you can clearly see this is a space underground, that goes somewhere im keeping off net to keep them hidden
Hope you enjoy these!
thanks for a good trip NK.

SD.

[edit] spelling errors[edit]
[edit] GCG's we have a few picture's that we can show you that are a little more clear [edit]



[last edit 9/30/2009 6:23 PM by TacDical - edited 3 times]

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained we must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature.

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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2766 on 10/1/2009 2:49 AM >
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Well, SD, you've pretty much covered it all.

Nice job in the Burrow.

I have to say, (personally), i thought this was the wildest, sketchiest, and most surprising drain we've done to date. An immense pleasure.
The interesting thing about this drain was that a lot of maps said it was very short, and only 3-3.5 ft. high. Which was clearly a lie.
We thought it was just going to be a short little drain that we'd do in 15 minutes. Man, we sure got more than we bargained for!
For starters, the drain basically went across most of James Bay. It just kept on going, and going.
The chambers were awesome. I've tried to capture them as best as possible, but it's hard to show the sheer size of them.
The foggy pictures were at a HUGE round chamber at the outfall. When i stepped into the sludgy water there, big bubbles burst furiously, emitting smelly gas; we decided not to stir it up any more. Had this exact experience in Cecelia Creek.


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The air down here was of serious concern. I won't go into details.....but when we were down there, in "a very particular section" we were pretty sketched. Then, today, upon doing some research, I discovered that our fears may have been very valid. Of course, we had no idea....our maps said that this was just a normal, *relatively safe*, storm drain--but as I said, we got way more than we bargained for. It was only possible to learn about the potential risks until after we had seen the infrastructure we saw. We're still looking into it--to find out exactly what we got into.

And here are some more photos, this time of SourDiesel. He's standing next to the pipe, just so you can get a sense of what we had to slither through.


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Anyways, a sheer joy to do this drain. My personal favorite so far, honestly.
And thank you for the manhole opening, SD. You've done so much of the lifting.....and yeah, my fingers are feeling better today. Again, thank you!
NK





J Peterman 


Location: Victoria B.C.
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I'm going hunting for mysteries, cover me.

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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2767 on 10/1/2009 3:06 AM >
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I thought I'd just post to express some new found disappointment I'm feeling after encountering some 3 foot tall graffiti in a conduit I'm particularly fond of. I'm not writing to bestow my opinions among others in the community (on the other hand maybe thats exactly what I'm doing) but regardless I am writing this to stress the importance of secrecy pertaining to our little communally enjoyed hobby here in Victoria.

I'm sure we're all aware of the pyramid effect that ensues after telling a secret to friend or acquaintance. He/she figures, "Hey, it must not be that big a secret if someone is showing it to me" and shows someone else and tells them not to show anyone...etc. Showing locations to friends who are interest but aren't avid "UE'rs" may bump you up a couple notches in the interesting dept in the eyes of others...but the long term repercussions of yapping your trap off affects everyone who cherishes this hobby in city. In Victoria we have a rather small number of traversable tunnels and drains. Once they are defaced and or sealed thats it one less piece of natural untouched history and excitement to be discovered. Treat this information with respect, you are privileged to have discovered this knowledge, and good on you for doing so. This strange, thrilling, almost unheard of little hobby of ours full of mystery, adrenaline, flashlights, roadcones and double-A batteries is what many of us live for.

Now I'm not sure how much flack I'm going to get for this but, seriously...lay it the fuck on me.

(And happy explorations to all)

-JPeterman





[last edit 10/1/2009 3:06 AM by J Peterman - edited 1 times]

I'm going hunting for mysteries, cover me.
KublaKhan 


Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2768 on 10/1/2009 3:45 AM >
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Spot on, as always Peterman. It is indeed very disappointing.




"The truth is knowable. But probably not, ever, incontrovertible."
--Don DeLillo
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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2769 on 10/1/2009 5:45 AM >
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You deserve no flack, JP. For your voice has spoken the undeniable truth.
That's very unfortunate news to hear, indeed.....
I think most of us here find it upsetting that people disregard the "sanctity" of these places, and give away details carelessly, or deface these spaces.
And SD and I couldn't help but wonder about how that section of the Cook Street Chasm got cemented in.





TacDical 


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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2770 on 10/1/2009 2:37 PM >
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i agree, "hear no say" you voiced your opinion appropriately and i dont see anything wrong ive only encountered graffiti once and that was in the double D drain

and nk is right were very curious to that cemented off wall in the C.S.C and to weather it was there the last time someone else explored, i also want to go check out that cover tried to lift lasttime and see where it leads because its kind of in the center of both sections of the CSC

haha that was one mucky exploration lasttime



[last edit 10/1/2009 2:39 PM by TacDical - edited 1 times]

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained we must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature.

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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2771 on 10/2/2009 4:37 AM >
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I've decided to share some details from the last expedition, as a friendly reminder of the safety risks we face underground.

Anyways, so SD and i are plodding along through the drain......then we get to this RCP, that's barely crawlable on the stomach. You've seen the pix.. Smells kinda bad. I go in first. I waited for a minute, with my head fully in the (more) confined space, but within SD's reach.....just in case. The air's obviously safe enough. We both go through. Then there's this big square brick room. Above us is a 250lb manhole. SD and i are now covered in slime (mud or decomposed sewage....who knows?) Then there's this huge, ancient, rusted hatch on the wall in front of us. It's not quite closed. We can see through behind it, a little bit. There's a space! It also smells really bad. Remember, right now we're in a very confined space, and crawling back out is quite tough and awkward as it is. We want to know what's behind that hatch. So we pry it open.
Then bad air floods our room. We begin to worry even more. We stick our heads through the hole briefly. More bad air. And then no more bad air. The air seems fresher, suddenly. SD and I totally freak.

(SD managed to keep his cool pretty well...........but i sure didn't).

H2S=knocks out sense of smell once it's in high enough concentrations to harm you. We both know that. You guys should also know that.

So we close the hatch in case it is H2S. We wait a minute. Nothing happens. We seriously consider leaving. I propose one quick opening of the hatch to take a fast photo. Then I smell foul air. Phew. It's not H2S. Just bad smells. Relief.
We realize that the differences in odour are from the natural airflow of the spaces. If there had been oxygen depletion, carbon monoxide, or H2S, we would've been dead by now. We now finally felt it was more or less safe enough to open the hatch again and look.
We just want to stress to any explorers that anything can happen underground. We thought we were going into a storm drain. But our maps betrayed us. We ended up poking our nose into infrastructure that was a part of the sanitary sewers. And not just any part of the sanitary sewers. A spot that was in very close proximity to a pump station that handles huge quantities of sludge a day. There is no way in hell that, had we been able to know, we would have done what we did without a gas meter. We were unwittingly putting ourselves at risk.
All we're trying to say is, firstly, it's highly important to just simply comprehend the nature of the risks you face when crawling around any subterranean space. You are underground, no one can hear you scream!
And it's good to continuously refresh yourself with a bit of worst-case scenario thinking--because worst-case scenarios happen all the time. Sewer workers take special training where they learn what to do if someone asphyxiates or gets injured, and needs to be rescued. Most of us are the type that want to avoid the kind of environments that sewer workers often toil in.....but anything can happen, just as something happened to us. Always play it by ear when in the underground. You may not need a gas meter, but you will need your intuition. Sometimes you can enter a space with safe air, but make it unsafe. Walk into muck that starts to bubble furiously when stirred? Well, safe at first, but it clearly doesn't want to be disturbed!!
The underground wasn't built with human comfort or safety in mind. It serves a utilitarian purpose, to carry away water and wastewaters. These spaces must be respected much in the same way you respect, say, being near wild animals, or explosives, or whatnot.
And with that said, I don't want to sound negative or anything; just remember, safety first!
happy explorations,
NK





LauraL42 


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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2772 on 10/2/2009 5:18 AM >
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Untouched? I thought this was urban exploration. Finding things from other people. I say its better to go with someone than risk it alone.




TacDical 


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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2773 on 10/2/2009 6:21 AM >
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Posted by LauraL42
Untouched? I thought this was urban exploration. Finding things from other people. I say its better to go with someone than risk it alone.


are you referring to JP or NijaKlutz because i agree to the fact that an untouched conduit or abandonment ie: graffiti is way better than one with it (ya get better pic's to)

exploring with someone else thats generally just a obvious choice but sometimes you risk things when your with someone else just like the other night.

SD.

you never know what you might find in the underground so be carful



[last edit 10/2/2009 6:36 AM by TacDical - edited 1 times]

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained we must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature.

Mowgli-dog 


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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2774 on 10/2/2009 8:10 PM >
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Why don't you guys get a gas meter if you're going to be crawling around in the sewers?

Also, I would think that it would be a good idea to tell someone where you're going, and contact them when you get back. If you get back at 4AM, send them an email.

If you got into trouble down there, it's conceivable that nobody would find you for months, or until a large run-off disgorged your slimy corpse into the harbour.




"We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." -George Orwell

Rest in peace, my pal Mowgli - the best dog there ever was.
TacDical 


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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2775 on 10/2/2009 9:07 PM >
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I always inform the person i live with that im going down underground and i tell them the area of where my truck should be, generally its not very far away.
if im not parking close to where im going to be i leave open a doc. on my computer of where im going to be so that if something does happen and im not home in time for work in the morning they know what to do.

as far as a gas meter the storm drains we go threw have for the most part been been, uhh how do i say it lol, somwhat of breezy but i was defiantly looking into getting one after finding ourselves really close to sewage lines and things of which defiantly needs a gas meter.

SD



[last edit 10/2/2009 9:45 PM by TacDical - edited 1 times]

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained we must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature.

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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2776 on 10/3/2009 1:13 AM >
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I think the rule about gas meters is this:
if you are entering a space where you know beforehand that the air can be really dangerous, then you shouldn't be going in if you don't know what you're doing. When the GCG did that huge conduit, that's when they did some serious planning, and that involved a gas meter. Look at all the ordinary drains that have been done without gas meters or equipement, and without anybody dying. How so? It's called using common sense, being aware of potential air problems and how to spot them, and just in general keeping your wits about you. Gas meters are expensive and, i think, largely unecessary. The more gear and instruments and equipment you get, the more you'll rely on this stuff rather than your intuition, which can, in the long run, be more dangerous. Remember.....you can still die even if you have a gas meter; if you don't know how to use it properly, it's easy to screw up and be fooled by some small detail and be tricked into thinking you're safe when you're not. Common sense and knowledge of all potential risks are the best safety devices you could ever possess. Everything has a time and a place, and it's up to the individual explorer to decide what's safest.

Here's some exceedingly helpful links that have info on air (somewhere):

http://www.uer.ca/...sort=1&sortmode=2&

http://www.infiltr...ions-approach.html

Draining is not an elitist sport. The first drain i did, i saw a pipe and crawled right in on my hands and knees and had no idea where i was going or what i was doing for the next hour and a half. If someone had told me i needed a gas meter, and that the drains were impossibly dangerous, and what not, i surely wouldn't have kept my interest in UE. Gas meters can be lifesavers. But you don't need them to go draining. Take the drains seriously. But anybody can do them. I can't stress that more.
NK







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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2777 on 10/3/2009 6:04 AM >
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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2778 on 10/3/2009 6:10 AM >
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Forget that link.

This is my Bible of draining.
Here it is, plain and simple, for all to read who haven't read the whole thread.

Tanuki says:

"I just use my fingers.

If you really need a manhole key, they are pretty easy to make. But if you require a tool to open them, I don't see how you are going to close them up after you. Which is essential. If some kid falls into a manhole, or some car looses a tire in one because you left it open, we will sacrifice you to the satanists.

Some advice for you:

Spend hours/days in the library/archives pouring over the maps and learning the infrastructure of the city.

Check it out on the ground. The maps don't always match reality, and there are many other manholes out there. Sanitary sewers, telecommunication vaults, drinking water, etc. Traverse your entire route above ground and figure out where you are going in and coming out. This is easiest to do in the daytime, but make sure you don't draw attention to the drains. We are allowed to be down there by virtue of the fact that no one officially knows that we are down there. Remember that when you are down below, you can't see what is happening above you. You can't tell if the manhole is about to get run over by a car. So NEVER plan on popping a manhole from below if it is in the middle of the street

Go back there at about 3am when there is no traffic. Watch carefully for a while to make sure your entrance is safe. Make sure you close the manhole up after you, even if you are only going to be down for a short while. Most of our covers have a little nub on them that needs to be seated properly. Closing the cover up after you is much harder than opening it.

Don't go down if it has been raining heavily recently. If it is high tide and windy, don't go to close to the outflow.

Make sure you have a way to get out. Usually you can't exit via the outflow. You need to either find a manhole to exit from that is in a sidewalk or grassy place (which is hard to find), or secure a manhole in an unused street by putting pylons around it to make sure no one is going to hit you when you come out. Remember that they all look the same from the underside, and that the maps aren't entirely accurate.

If it smells bad, don't go. There is occasionally a lot of nasty stuff dumped into our drains, shit being the least of your worries.


Tanuki 7/6/2006 1:49 AM
Canada: Alberta / BC > Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
I ain't giving out directions to any drains. There are maps. They aren't online. They are available to the public.

Bowker Creek is the only easy to access drain in Victoria. All the others you must get into through manholes in the middle of streets. Most of them are in heavily used areas, and some even have 24 hour security. You cannot do them during the day, and most can only be done at 3am, and even then with caution. Many of them are in areas where if someone sees you they will call the cops. For some drains you have to secure your exit with pylons before you go down or you risk getting your head run over when you come up. For ALL of them, you must close the manhole up after you when you go down. If you can't close it yourself, or convince a friend to stay topside and close it for you, then you shouldn't go down. These places aren't designed for tourists. High tides and storms can make them dangerous. Most of them have sewer overflows, which at times makes them unpleasant (and perhaps unhealthy). There are a lot of manholes, many of them are hard to open, and the maps are inaccurate. You will need to scout them out ahead of time.

I don't mean to say that draining in Victoria is impossible for anyone except for a handful of us elite. It is very possible, and very rewarding, and our drains are gorgeous. But I am saying that if you aren't willing to dedicate some thought to this pursuit, you shouldn't be down there.

Also, the city just sealed my favorite entrance to my favorite drain, probably because of the careless entry of certain other explorers (cough cough). So I had to go in through a manhole I didn't like, and I somehow dropped it on my head. You may wonder how someone could possibly be so stupid as to actually drop a couple hundred pound manhole cover on their own head. I'm still wondering the same thing. But it was damn heavy, and my head still hurts.

So I'm not too keen about extraneous traffic through the drains I like to crawl around in. If you are willing to put in the time and effort to find them, and use adequate caution so you don't spoil it for others, then that is great. Otherwise stay away from places you shouldn't be."




tweeek 


Location: Victoria, BC
Gender: Male
Total Likes: 0 likes




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Re: Under the Garden City: Victoria B.C. secret tunnels.
< Reply # 2779 on 10/3/2009 2:34 PM >
Reply with Quote
Posted on Forum: UER Forum
Posted by NinjaKlutz
I think the rule about gas meters is this:
if you are entering a space where you know beforehand that the air can be really dangerous, then you shouldn't be going in if you don't know what you're doing. When the GCG did that huge conduit, that's when they did some serious planning, and that involved a gas meter. Look at all the ordinary drains that have been done without gas meters or equipement, and without anybody dying. How so? It's called using common sense, being aware of potential air problems and how to spot them, and just in general keeping your wits about you. Gas meters are expensive and, i think, largely unecessary. The more gear and instruments and equipment you get, the more you'll rely on this stuff rather than your intuition, which can, in the long run, be more dangerous. Remember.....you can still die even if you have a gas meter; if you don't know how to use it properly, it's easy to screw up and be fooled by some small detail and be tricked into thinking you're safe when you're not. Common sense and knowledge of all potential risks are the best safety devices you could ever possess. Everything has a time and a place, and it's up to the individual explorer to decide what's safest.

Here's some exceedingly helpful links that have info on air (somewhere):

http://www.uer.ca/...sort=1&sortmode=2&

http://www.infiltr...ions-approach.html

Draining is not an elitist sport. The first drain i did, i saw a pipe and crawled right in on my hands and knees and had no idea where i was going or what i was doing for the next hour and a half. If someone had told me i needed a gas meter, and that the drains were impossibly dangerous, and what not, i surely wouldn't have kept my interest in UE. Gas meters can be lifesavers. But you don't need them to go draining. Take the drains seriously. But anybody can do them. I can't stress that more.
NK






I have a gas detector. They are foolproof to use, I wouldn't go into a drain SD or SS without one, with decent ventilation or not. I have had the detector go off in areas where airflow is present. Gas can sit in pockets around corners, in manhole shafts, or in other areas with the air remains still and undisturbed. CO is heavier than air and will stay low, air can be fine and head level and bad a foot level. When you walk through a passage, you stir it up, now when you turn back, escape is impossible and suffocation is the outcome. Most drains in this city have SS overflow into them, making them also more likely to contain gasses. Just because so much draining has been done without injury is a very poor reason to assume that they are not necessary in SD's. A Multi-Gas detector is expensive yes, but would be a very worthwhile purchase for you as you are serious about draining and are finding some incredible new locations. Maybe see if safety supply stores have any for rent?







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