West Ridge Tunnels
Once you survive the long trek from the SRC to Butrovitch, you can then
go up a set of stairs into the West Ridge utilidor system. This set of
tunnels is larger than average, but also hotter. Stairs and ladders abound,
and several times the tunnel changes levels or slopes upwards or downwards.
Stairs lead off to nearby buildings and short connecting tunnels in several
places, and more unlocked security gates can be found (at least they were
unlocked when we were there). Before getting to Butrovitch there is a side
tunnel up to the greenhouse and museum, although neither seems to be accessible
from the tunnels (at least not easily!). These are some of
the larger tunnels, and would be great for riding bikes, skateboards,
golf carts, etc. There's even a freight elevator to transport the stuff
down!
(Note: lower-quality photos are from first scouting mission, better
photos are from full missions a year later.)
My photo organization skills suck, I need to totally redesign these
pages.
On the way from the SRC up to West Ridge, we pass air vents, escape
hatches, and a side tunnel to the museum (sealed) and greenhouse.
Going from -20F outdoors to 110F underground causes some weird clothing
choices, and isn't' much fun if you're not ready for it.
The turn-off at Butrovitch (first pic shows Butrovitch mech room ladder).
This leads north under the Arctic Health building which has two doors into
the tunnels.
The ladder next to the stairs in the 2nd photo leads to either the
vent or the manhole in the third photo (probably the vent)
The Arctic Health Research building has a deep mech room connected
to the tunnel, with a ladder up to the normal mech room.
A little further down the tunnel there's an elevator and stairway ascending
about 4 stories to the ground floor. Apparently I found
the "Hydro Pneumatic" tank humorous at the time, although I have no
idea why, or what the hell Hydro Pneumatic is.
Click here to ascend the shaft into the AHRC tunnels.
Irving has a small side tunnel above the regular tunnel and at right
angles. We also found a sub-basement full of large engines and freon tanks.
The tunnel from Irving and O'Neill to the three Elvey buildings. At
O'Neill the tunnel changes levels with a ladder and catwalk.