Battersea Powerstation - (Chimney Climb)
I'm not about to regurgitate more history, so read all about it here http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/battersea-powerstation-july-2013.t83906
The legend that is Stepping Lightly first tackled one of the chimneys here back in 2008, almost 6 years ago now
I once asked him why, the answer was something along the lines of "because I could" - fair play!
His original thread can be found here http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/battersea-chimney-climb-june-08.t31837
Over the years he's hinted a number of times I should get up, when infact I've probably spent the remainder of the time talking about it
We had plans to tackle it last year, and after more talking it still never happened..
Mention chimney's and another name pops up - Bigjobs. He can usually be found naked 200ft up the nearest brick stack
Back in 2012 Jobs, Fishbrain, Sho & Millhouse took on the mighty Battersea again
You can read all about it here http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/battersea-powerstation-chimney-climb-2012.t74948
Props to them guy's for getting it done, absolute legends too IMO
Lastly, not forgetting the fella's that built these fine stacks, they sure knew how to enjoy a safety brew
the lot of youNow then, back to reality..
We visited the power station far too many times back in 2013, purely to view as much as we could of the gaff (as work had started up), before it was too late
Each time, we made a point of climbing up to the chimney's, however it was never going to be enough
^ (On our final jaunt, the upper scaff deck as seen here had since been removed, adding several metres to the original ascent)
More talking ensued, although we did agree we would have a go as soon as we could free up some time honest
:Whilst down in LON I've been keeping my eye on the place, in the past 6 months a lot has changed with the site and they really do mean business this time
Until recently the tour bus had stalled and everyone had assumed it was impossible, infact it was now more of an assault course than it's ever been for sure
A week or so ago I noticed they had installed two fall arrest ladders on the SW chimney
Also the rig that will be used to demo the chimney had now popped out of the top
These were also visible on a recent report on here and I'm surprised nobody else had attempted it
I messaged GAJ who wasn't free for over a week, and he mentioned Keïteï was back also for one night only and suggested we go for it then
Sitting tight for 8 day's was never going to be easy!
It was simply a case of pull fingers out or miss out, whatever the outcome we had to take our chances
A long time coming this...
No sooner had we arrived, some epic lighting show appeared out of nowhere, (you can just about see it in the above pic) ^
A collective WTF? echoed
The entire North side of the station and all 4 chimney's were now randomly being lit up like Xmas trees
In the end this continued well into the early hours, long after we'd took the decision to crack on all the same
Yes the pics are rather shyte, you won't see these in Time Out
It was never about the pics anyway just to be stood on top of one of those iconic stacks was more than enough
Hauling all the gear up between us was effort, it was now later than expected so we decided to have a safety nap
No matter how long it would take, it was fairly certain at this point it would be daylight before we headed down
The ladders were tempting but not an option here, we agreed rope or nothing from the outset
GAJ insisted on leading this one, there was no negotiation he wanted to do it and a seriously good effort!
As we were setting up we noticed a dog unit parked at the base between the 2 chimney's
They were patrolling about every often with said K9 in a separate compound with full view of the pitch we were about to climb
What with light show and dogs it was certainly going to be an interesting one
I was fully expecting to greet Jean Michel Jarre at the top, either him or Keith Laird
Keïteï ascended up next and I went to sleep as I was knackered
Woken by a faint whiff of fresh in the air as father Thames rolled in, I looked up to see she was up
My turn then I guess..
Having not slept for almost 48 hours, every bit of energy was sapped from my body
The next 40+ metres were going to require some pace.. as I started my ascent I thought "only 24 Ojay's to go then"
> Chimney height from ground level is 135m
> Chimney stack itself is 42.2m (exc wash tower)
Boy I was glad to see that capping ring come into sight, just a traverse and a couple of moves at the top and I was up
The feeling was overwhelming, I was tired beyond belief, and all I could do was stare down in awe, I almost had to pinch myself!
It wasn't as clear as it had been earlier, a mist had rolled in, eventually I decided to grab a few pics before going for a poke about
The rig is built into the chimney and has the ability to climb up and down inside whilst they prepare it for demolition
A ladder down takes you inside the chimney suspended onto a lower platform below the top section of the rig
One thing was being able to get on top, but to actually get inside it was an added bonus
Fatigue brought on giggles, I was mildly amused by the 'Delta Rescue kit bag' that was leaning against the ladder
I was half expecting it to be full of polystyrene cups and tea bags
The lads have been on with cleaning and painting inside the chimney I've been reliably informed, their D.I.Y skills and cleaning abilities leave a lot to be desired..
The whole rig moves about so grabbing pics handheld was never going to be easy
Inside the chimney was nicely lit, it's times like these I wish I'd fetched the tripod
This ones my favourite looking down (although crap) reminds me of a drain
A few more
Nine Elms
Outta here
Massive shouts to GAJ & Keïteï for a memorable effort
Thanks for looking
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!
A true dick move on the biggest phallic symbol in London 
