Report - Ontario Tower Crane - 13/3/07

tank · Mar 14, 2007

Me and Palace Fan have been looking at this for a very long time and last night was the first time we both had enough bottle to go for it. We had done another smaller crane in the city and knew that once we got up there conditions were perfect, NO WIND! NO CLOUDS!

There was too things to worry about, firstly on-site security and also the patrolling security from the luxury block of apartment that overlooks the site.

Managed to get in the site easily enough and headed straight for the base of the crane, litte trouble with the hauding as it was well secured but after that it was pretty much straight up, except for the security which were constantly patrolling on the hour along same route, meaning we had to stop only a few sections up and wait it out. By the time we were up there had worked out the route they take so our exit had changed slightly.

Height of this is well over 100m PF is trying to find out the exact measurement.

Palace Fan · Mar 14, 2007

Re: Ontario Tower Crane - REPORT 13/3/07

As Tank said, this one has been playing on our minds for a while now. The Crane is awesome, not quite Beetham West height, but not too far behind, and the highest in London at the moment.

Security is sh*t-hot on the Ontario crane hence its taken us at least 3 visits to plan, and go for it. First you an external guide in a car, then you've got hoarding, which once over the only accessible spot lands you next to the site guards hut in brambles (noisey). Then you got an extremely well lite site to cross, followed by a second skin of hoarding. The crane leg is light like a stadium for the first third of the climb, throwing shadows on the building, followed by two sections up, the ladder is boarded and locked, meaning you have to climb the reverse side of the ladder! To make things worse the guard does extremely thorough patrols around the whole site every hour!

Anyway, once up on the jib it was time to get some pics. It was seriously peaceful up there with hardly a breeze.

The building goes 104m, so I'm gonna put 114m on the crane.

Forgot to add, whilst driving through the city still buzzing from the previous crane, I had forgotten to put the headlights on. The Police pulled along side, and seeing two large can in the drinks holder, no lights, and two scruffy looking individuals driving along, we got pulled. I got questioned, about where we'd been, told them we'd been taking pictures down by the Thames, to which the WPC asked "why"? Told her we like to photgraph London (hoping she wouldn't want to see the cameras, but called her bluff and offered to show her the cameras), she didn't wnat to. Then came the breathaliser - reading 000! Then asked have I been smoking anything, told him I'm a very keen cyclist and hate smoking (true). All details checked out, I thanked them for their time, and they let me off my faulty brake light. A lesson in how to deal with the Police. Not even a producer, f*cking lucky they didn't want to see the cameras, think the questions may have continued elsewhere.

Real shame the Dome wasn't in all its glory