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Showing posts with label infiltration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label infiltration. Show all posts

Monday, October 24, 2016

This location is one of the tallest buildings around and has been the subject of some controversy after it was announced that it would be vacated. Naturally we began to eye the place up. But we soon discovered that although the major tenant has in fact moved out, there are still some active offices on the upper floors. My valiant comrade and I nevertheless found our way inside and made it to the very rooftopiest hatch only to find a big padlock in our way. Fortunately, the next roof platform one flight of stairs down from there was not secured in such a way as to deny our advances. We opened the door to the glorious howling of air currents at heights that are normally reserved for the flying rats we call pigeons. Tall buildings seemed small and humans were no longer easily distinguishable. After enjoying the view from the roof, we proceeded down to the executive level, the topmost habitable portion of the skyscraper. We found chandeliers, ugly contemporary paintings and a large, but sadly empty, bar. We carefully made our way around inside while looking for motion sensors or alarms and found no obvious signs. Soon, however, I opened a hall closet on the South-East corner of the top level and found an alarm panel which was lit up light a Christmas tree. Evidently silent, and well hidden, alarms are the current situation here. We immediately headed for the exits just as security was making their way after us. But luck was on our side and the day was won by the good guys as we exited without incident.

I wouldn't normally post a location like this but we probably couldn't replicate this trip if we wanted to. Well, we might be able to since we're professionals, but you couldn't since you're not us. This bulding is not open to the public, so first you have to get inside. Good luck. Then you'd have to get past security, then past the alarms. Assuming you made it to the top where we did, you'd then have anywhere from 1-20 minutes before someone came looking for you. Furthermore, this trip did not occur recently; I held off on posting this one for a while.

Click here for the video from this trip.

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

The awesome 20 story Wright Arcade, along with its neighbor the Paul Brown building, seen from above. That's a massive building but it looks small from way up here. Check out the Wright Arcade here.

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

BONUS

This blog doesn't see much in the way of rooftopping related shenanigans for the simple reason that it's not usually worth a post on its own. I'm not one of those rooftopping bros posting dangly feet pics for instagram (I mean, I ain't stoping you-do whatever floats your boat). But it's legitimately not a great idea to post identifiable rooftop shots if you ever want you or your friends to go back and if you don't believe me...try it sometime? Or don't. It's not my thing so I don't give a fuck. As for me, I've always kept my camera put up when we're doing things that require either speed or concealment or just plain mobility without the slow/heavy gear getting in the way. Security guards aren't going to wait around for you to get your camera safely put up before they pursue. So in many cases over the years my phone has served to capture the action in bits and pieces here and there-just for something to remember the place by later. Most of the time, however, it's better to just leave the cameras off and handle whatever comes up with the speed and mobility necessary to avoid the types of problems this hobby can get you into. So here's a few other rooftops (and assorted rooftop attempts) that have occurred over the course of the past few years and some of which I never bothered to post anywhere. I recently found some of these shots on old memory cards from various old phones I've had over the years and thought this would be the place to share them.

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Rooftop Shenanigans © 2016 sublunar

Friday, October 31, 2014

There were two ledges involved.. They were only separated by about 3 feet or so. But it was enough that you didn't have a great hold on either side as you crossed over. Close enough that if you are relaxed and you don't over think the gap, it really shouldn't be a problem, in most situations. But in this case, the gap happened to be roughly 75-100 feet above the ground. I'm not really sure of the exact height because I didn't want to look down long enough to figure it out. Either way, you're dead. This was far sketchier than anything I've done before in terms of height and it was messing with my head. I tried to just look at the ledge I was on and look at the ledge I needed to be on and make it happen. I reached out to it a couple of times as a warm up, trying to reassure myself that it's not that far. I decided to just do it, get it over with. I extended my leg to the other side, stretched further than it seemed like it should be. I let go of one hand on my ledge and began to grasp at the other ledge. But then I started thinking too much about my grip, about my footing and I nearly lost my shit. Quickly I pulled back to my ledge and gripped it tightly, testing my muscles and telling myself that there's nothing to be worried about. One hand and one foot on a solid ledge is enough. But it's that transfer when you let go of the one you know is solid and try to shift over to the new one.. fuck. Stop thinking about it and just do it. I regained my senses, forced the height out of my mind and got a firm footing. When I got to the other side I grabbed it for dear life and just waited a second to reassure myself that I made it. Then up and over and I was finally inside. But that wasn't the last of it. If you want to get to the top then you need to climb the ladder. The ladder was about 50 feet and although it was secured to the wall in spots, it was very wobbly. Looking back on it, I think ladders are a good teaching aid to get comfortable with heights because there's nothing to worry about as long as you trust yourself to grab the rungs in succession and not let go. But for someone with a slight issue with heights, it was still very unnerving.

At last we were on the top. The views were amazing and I definitely appreciated them while I was there. The night, the cool air and all the lights. But in the back of my mind I knew I was going to have to come back down eventually, back down the ladder and.. the gap. By this time, the ladder was a little easier for me. One foot in front of the other, don't look down. The gap, well it fucking sucked again. I don't think that was any easier the second time. Once we got back out to the sidewalk I bent over to pat it a few times, relieved to be back on solid ground.

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar

Scraping The Sky © 2014 sublunar