# The scariest thing ever!



## Omar B (Sep 16, 2010)

Ok, so I've got this pretty serious fear of hights (one of the reasons I want to learn how to fly a plane) so by chance I came upon this video.  It's of an antenna working who has strapped a camera to his helmet as he climbs one of those really high antennas that you always see and wonder what kind of nut-job works up there.

I'm about 15 minutes into watching a video that's abotu 7 minutes long.  I'm sitting here in my chair with my legs turned to jelly.  It's really scary to watch even from the safe vantage point of home, but also very beautiful in a way.

http://io9.com/5639113/the-scariest-video-you-have-ever-watched-in-the-name-of-science


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## Big Don (Sep 16, 2010)

My friend cured my fear of heights when I was 16. His dad had a crane, he had a 12 pack of beer, I wanted beer but was afraid of heights. He climbed to the top of the crane, I started up, using the cables as handrails. He started shaking the cables, I let go, and by the time I got to the top, I wasn't afraid of heights anymore.
Kind of a D___ move, but, it worked for me


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## MA-Caver (Sep 16, 2010)

Ok, I am... impressed. Those guys have bigger cojones than I ever will. I'd probably still do it because I'm not too skeerd of heights and have climbed some pretty neat stuff, but oh lordy lordy I doubt that I would disconnect my safety from the tower. 
SHEESH! 

Wonder if those guys wives have seen that video and get an appreciation for what their men do to bring home the bacon. 

Biggest thing I'd be worried about is not the bag but the wind. 

No quick way down? What about base-jumping? I mean yeah you got the extra weight of the chute but what a comfort it'd be knowing it's there if you ever lose your grip? 

Betcha that tool bag has got TWO of everything in it, it'd suck to drop a wrench wouldn't it?


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## teekin (Sep 16, 2010)

If your not scared of hights it's just cool. It just looks like a NeatO thing to do. But I think they need to have sort of teather system for their tools. If you drop a 9mm socket or a 13mm torx bolt it's a long climb down. :wah:

lori


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## Bruno@MT (Sep 16, 2010)

That is pants-peeing scary. As if climbing up inside the cage isn't bad enough, going to the outside and free climbing that pole.... hanging by 1 hand...
I have to admit, even looking at the vid is making me uncomfortable and making my bladder tingle.

This is insane.


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## seasoned (Sep 16, 2010)

I clicked the link but it said video no longer available.


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## Bruno@MT (Sep 16, 2010)

I just checked and it is still there.


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## CoryKS (Sep 16, 2010)

MA-Caver said:


> Wonder if those guys wives have seen that video and get an appreciation for what their men do to bring home the bacon.


 

 :rofl:


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## Jenna (Sep 16, 2010)

Things I am thinking while watching mesmerised.. 
1. Screw the tethers, a parachute should be requisite safety equipment!
2. Those guys are _seriously _fit to be hauling themselves that height up there [and presumably back down again!]

Wow.  Thank you for posting!


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## Omar B (Sep 16, 2010)

You notice every time you think he's at the top he is not!  There's just some skinnier thing for him to shimmy up.  Then he stands on top of the damn thing!  Gave me nightmares last night.


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## Jenna (Sep 16, 2010)

I would wonder with that perspective do they ever develop odd thought patterns.  Do they become philosophical like astronauts.  Or do they ever become hazed and feel like letting go their grip.  I love the extreme of this .


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## MA-Caver (Sep 16, 2010)

Jenna said:


> I would wonder with that perspective do they ever develop odd thought patterns.  Do they become philosophical like astronauts.


My vertical caving (going down -- and back up) deep pits) has made me somewhat philosophical... I would imagine that these guys are no different... but then would any high-rise construction worker/crane operator be just as? Be interesting to chat with those guys eh? 

Hey Omar... read Jenna's signature. :uhyeah:


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## Omar B (Sep 16, 2010)

OMG caving!  That I could not handle at all either.  dark, tight little spaces you have to wiggle through, freaks me out.  I had a hard time even watching The Decent.  Or even worse, the climax of the movie Touristas!  Holy crap that freaked me out!


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## Big Don (Sep 16, 2010)

Omar B said:


> OMG caving!  That I could not handle at all either.  dark, tight little spaces you have to wiggle through, freaks me out.  I had a hard time even watching The Decent.  Or even worse, the climax of the movie Touristas!  Holy crap that freaked me out!


You weren't a fan of Zork then, were you?


> "You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike."





> "It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."


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## Omar B (Sep 16, 2010)

Don't even know what Zork is.


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## Big Don (Sep 16, 2010)

Omar B said:


> Don't even know what Zork is.


OMG I am old
Zork was a computer game, TEXT only. At certain points, you were in the aforementioned maze of twisty little passages, and, when in the dark, in danger of being eaten by a grue.


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## Omar B (Sep 16, 2010)

Oh yeah, text on a screen, scary as all hell.  You get scared playing Peekaboo too?


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## Carol (Sep 16, 2010)

That engineer is very  fortunate that he can take the elevator to 1600 feet on a 1780 foot structure...although tower elevators are a creepy thing in and of themselves.   Radio waves interfere with elevator operation...I'll just keep it at that.  

This tower in the google map below was one of mine.  The tower base is(as usual) in swampland, so the odd looking red area leading to the tower is a metal catwalk.  The barbed wire fence surrounding the tower is to keep local idjits from wandering around and electrocuting themselves.








Here is a closeup of the white section in the center of the tower:






That triangular ledge is the top of the elevator, IIRC around 650 feet HAAT (height above average terrain).  The top of the tower is 1082 feet HAAT, with the tip of the antenna at 1252 feet HAAT.  All of the wires going to and from the tower are steel guy wires that support the structure.  Basically the elevator takes you halfway there, then its a tethered climb to the top of the structure. 

Generally speaking the broadcasters either shut down or run at greatly reduced power with an electrician on the tower...but that doesn't reduce the fact that the electrician is still exposed to a dangerous amount of electricity when on the tower.

As a bit of perspective, the alternating orange and white bands of paint on the tower are about 100 feet long.  

Its....not for the faint of heart.


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## Flea (Sep 16, 2010)

Omar B said:


> You notice every time you think he's at the top he is not!  There's just some skinnier thing for him to shimmy up.



That's what got me.  It's like that classic nightmare where you're running down a hallway and it keeps stretching out in front of you.  :uhohh:  I still have a knot in my stomach several minutes later after watching this.

I was never afraid of heights until I visited the CN Tower in Toronto.  I went out on the observation deck and some of my friends were holding on to the railing, blown sideways by the wind.  They loved it, but something wrinkled in my psyche that never quite let go.  I usually don't mind being at a great height, but getting up there and back down is a challenge.  I _hate_ glass elevators.  If I can't see the ascent and descent I'm fine.

The latest Trapped Miner Drama has me re-evaluating some things.  There's a lot of discussion about the sacrifices our military and public safety providers make so we can take freedom and safety for granted.  But not so much about electricity and other utilities.  I'm sure the guys in this video got juicy paychecks for their efforts, but what about the trapped miners of the world?  What about the BP workers killed when the offshore rig exploded a few months back?  They may not have to contend with violent people but their work is utterly critical to our quality of life.  Next time we pull up to a red light (or go online!) let's say a word of thanks for their sacrifices.  And be sure to turn off the lights in empty rooms.  You never know but what someone's life may depend on it.


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## Xue Sheng (Sep 16, 2010)

The camera movement is a bit freaky and it is really cool. But to be honest I could climb that, if I were still in the same shape as I was back in my mountain climbing days. However these days if I climbed it I am not so sure I could climb down.


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## seasoned (Sep 16, 2010)

Bruno@MT said:


> I just checked and it is still there.


Thanks, Bruno, because of you I went back into the video and there it was. The feeling of being there with him sent goose bumps up my spine. I sure hope he is making serious money for doing this. My thoughts of grip strength, being sure footed, and any number of things that could go wrong were on my mind, as I watched the video.


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## Sukerkin (Sep 16, 2010)

Holy frak!

Not for all the gold pigs in the world would you get me doing that!

I am surprised that the H & S regs allow for it, I must say.  Are those regs universal as I don't see that the system here in the UK would permit it.

Also, why don't they suspend the engineer from a helicopter rather than making him freeclimb at that height?  That is how we deal with maintenance of power lines in this country, for example.


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## Carol (Sep 16, 2010)

Sukerkin said:


> Holy frak!
> 
> Not for all the gold pigs in the world would you get me doing that!
> 
> ...



Because a single electrician, or an electrician and a helper, are far cheaper than a helicopter+skilled pilot...even on a tethered climb which takes longer.

On some of the really big combiner rigs...it isn't unheard of to put an engineer in a helicopter....but its far more common to have someone scale the tower.

As far as regulations....nothing is universal, to be honest.  The video says OSHA permits a freeclimb at that height...but just because OSHA permits something doesn't mean that the tower owners nor the station operators nor the underwriters will permit it.  None of the guyed towers that I worked with could have been freeclimbed under the insurance policies in place when I was working.


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## MA-Caver (Sep 16, 2010)

Flea said:


> I _hate_ glass elevators.  If I can't see the ascent and descent I'm fine..


Then don't come to where I work (www.rubyfalls.com ... Bob has been there) because you descend 260 feet down an elevator shaft with a glass door so you can see the rock as it goes by... going down and back up. 
Usually however; I tend to keep an eye on folks on the elevator and if I see someone even remotely with widening pupils and eyes darting here and there I tell them to close their eyes or otherwise turn around and face the wall panel on either 3 sides. Don't need anyone freaking out on that thing... it's touchy enough as it is. 
I go up and down that thing at least 10 times in a given day... more if I'm designated operator for the day. For me... it's no biggie.
Probably the same thing for those guys who climb the towers and cranes.


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## Carol (Sep 16, 2010)

The guy wires that hold those towers up also have to be lubricated every so often to prevent corrosion.  This is a manual process that is done by a specialist...not an engineer or electrician..  The technician scales the tower to the point where the guys attach to the tower with a special harness that some folks call a "basket"

The technician then harnesses himself to the guy wire and slowly works his way down the actual guy, greasing the wire as he goes.  

That IMO is far scarier than scaling a tower. At least on a tower you are standing on something solid!


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## crushing (Sep 16, 2010)

Big Don said:


> You weren't a fan of Zork then, were you?



Wow, you're going WAYYYY back with that reference.


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## Ken Morgan (Sep 16, 2010)

Flea said:


> I was never afraid of heights until I visited the CN Tower in Toronto. I went out on the observation deck and some of my friends were holding on to the railing, blown sideways by the wind. They loved it, but something wrinkled in my psyche that never quite let go.


 
Did they have the glass floor when you were there Flea? I walked on it just to say i did. My son, when he was very young, and most of the other kids visiting rolled on the bloody thing!! My son couldn't understand why I told him in no uncertain terms to get off of the thing...It still makes me very uncomfortable.


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## crushing (Sep 17, 2010)

Ken Morgan said:


> Did they have the glass floor when you were there Flea? I walked on it just to say i did. My son, when he was very young, and most of the other kids visiting rolled on the bloody thing!! My son couldn't understand why I told him in no uncertain terms to get off of the thing...It still makes me very uncomfortable.


 
I skipped across the glass floor when I was there, but my lovely wife wanted nothing to do with it.  It was pretty cool to look straight down.  According to Wikipedia (where I got the picture below) they now have an elevator with a glass floor.

Click here to see the image

2009-08-03 16:47 Franklin.vp 3888×2592× (3926577 bytes) _Author:Franklin Vera Pacheco_


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## Ken Morgan (Sep 17, 2010)

The big circle looks like one of those targets the Coyote draws for his weapons against the road runner.
pppspsssssss.......SPLAT!!!!!


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