Steam Tunnels

Stanford's Steamtunnels:

Introduction

So you think you'd like to adventure intoStanford's steam tunnels....

Please use every bit information you find on this page at your own risk and with extreme caution. I haven't been tunneling in over a year so please take that into account when reading the map. Finally, I hereby say that I take no responsibility for any adventure derived from this page.


Things to watch out for:

  • sharp objects, such as nails on the pipes; they show no mercy.
  • Very HOT pipes; they're used to carry the steam that heats the quad. By definition, steam is at least 100°C. Furthermore, hot pipes look the same as cold pipes.
  • Fragile pipes; you break'em, you buy'em :-P
  • Exposed wiring.
  • Security patrols, most tunnelers don't like getting caught. There are points where you'll feel a draft of cold air, that means you can be heard on the outside.

Cover your body with clothes; it's very dirty and dangerous down there. Yes, it's hot, but I'd rather sweat than bleed. Be prepared for tight spaces, crawling in dirt, and spider webs.

Take a strong flashlight. Some parts are lit, others are not.

Take water, it's hot, you'll sweat, and you don't want to pass out. Take breaks, especially in cool places.

Have fun :-) It's exciting to pop your head up into different parts of the quad. It seems this kind of adventure is becoming rarer and rarer so if you do it, you'll be one of the few! Good luck!

Updating The Map

If, after your adventure, you'd like to add or clarify this map, please give me a holler! I have this map as a power point file, so it's easy to add to this map.

Entrances/Exits

  1. a really heavy man hole cover that is in the open. it was our first entry point, but i dont suggest it should be yours. it's slow to get in and out of, you can't close it from the inside and there's a lot of traffic.
  2. kind of a cellar door, the best entrance/exit of all. however, it's normally locked. occasionally the lock is broken off, so it's worth a check.
  3. a maintanence closet in a the language? building. there's a hatch on the floor that leads to the tunnel. best used as an exit. come out of the hatch and close it. then open the closet door and walk out of the building.
  4. a rectangular light-weight grill behind the psych building. the best and most reliable way in and out, to my knowledge. relatively easy to close from the inside.
  5. a maintainance closet in the hum bio building. from the tunnels you come into a big metal box with some machinery in it. at top of a short set of stairs, there's a door that opens into the building.
  6. a really heavy man hole cover behind one of the buildings in the SEQ. it's in the open and there's enough traffic to make this a bad exit.
  7. the newest hole i've found is somewhere in the southeastern area of the quad...not sure how to describe and i haven't been down it. i only found it because some other tunnelers had lef it open :-P

Area Descriptions

  • Area A: you'll run into a short ladder that leads upto the cellar door exit/entrance.
  • Area B: the most complicated area that i've found. as you approach it from the mem chu side, things will be relatively cool until you go through some plastic "drapes" there after it'll get progressively hotter until it's almost too much to stand. a sign that you're getting close to the really hot part is a really hot pipe that has a piece of "carpeting" over it to help you avoid burns. getting passed the hot stuff will lead you to the SEQ. To take the right fork and make it to Area C, you'll have to fit through some pretty tight squeezes. there are also some delicate thing pipes that you should be very careful of. if you're watching for exit 5, it'll off to the right in the dirt...it may look like a dwelling from the main tunnel path.
  • Area C: is relatively straight forward
  • Area D: leads to a dead end...and has warnings of asbestos.

Map

Posted: December 03, 2007 | | comments

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