Climbing a Shard of Glass
Posted by Bradley L. Garrett on Saturday Apr 7, 2012 Under Celebration, Cranes, Geography, Infiltration, Infrastructure, London, London Consolidation Crew, Skyscapers“The sensual mysticism of entire vertical being.” -E.E. Cummings
Sacking Olympus
As of December 2011, the Shard claimed the title of ‘tallest building in the European Union’, stretching 310 meters into the clouds from London Bridge. It has also been said that is it the most secure site in the city outside of the 2012 Olympic Park. I have never measured the building so I can’t testify to the validity of the first claim but I’m happy to respond to the second, as usual.
Sky Ladder
It was a crisp night outside London Bridge station. It was still but our breath curled in the 2am air. Marc Explo and I were standing on a temporary wooden walkway looking through a viewing window into the ground level construction yard of the largest skyscraper in Europe. “Gary” walked up behind us and, with a hand on each of our shoulders, also peered through. “One security guard looking after the Shard huh?” We chuckled. We waited for the guard to finish his current round and go into his hut. It took a few minutes of lingering before the walkway was clear of people – we grabbed onto the scaffolding pipes and swung off the bridge. Hanging on the freezing pipes, we pulled ourselves on top of the walkway and laid down out of view, waiting for a reaction in case anyone had seen or heard us. It didn’t seem so.
Vertical Maze
Staying low, we then descended the other side of the scaffolding, right behind the security hut where we could see the guard watching TV, not the cameras. Quickly, we scampered across the yard and found the central stair case, again pausing to see if there was any reaction from the yard, phones ringing or doors opening. It was silent.
Rhythm
Undertop
First we took the stairs two at a time. All three of us were in pretty good shape and could do 25 or 30 floors like that. But by the 31st floor, I was sweating heavily. Knowing that the sweat would sting when we emerged onto the roof, I tried to pace myself and breathe. By floor 50, my calves burned horribly and I was having to stop every once and a while to let them pulse a bit and untighten.
Sapped
At floor 70 the cement stairs turned into metal ones, indicating we were near the top. I was ecstatic. A final burst of enthusiasm took us from metal stairs to wooden ladders. We threw open one last hatch and found ourselves on top of the Shard at 76 stories.
Sky Warriors
As I climbed up on the counterweight of the crane, my breath caught. It was a combination of the icy wind and the sheer scale of the endeavor that shocked me. Marc was looking down at London Bridge station and whispered, “the train lines going into London Bridge look like the Thames, it’s all flow.” Slowly, I pulled myself to the end of the counter weight and peered over the edge. Indeed, we were so high, I couldn’t see anything moving at street level. No buses, no cars, just rows of lights and train lines that looked like converging river systems, a giant urban circuit board.
Trigger
Static
Flow
We found the cab of the crane open and slipped inside. “Gary” pointed to a green button on the control panel and said “watch this, I’m going to build the Shard!” pretending to press the button.
Builder
Warmth
We only lasted about half an hour on top before our muscles were seizing up and we were actually yearning for the stair climb down. Which is always much easier than coming up.
Lookout below!
Later, standing next to the Thames, staring up at the little red light blinking on top of the crane, it seemed unimaginable that I had my hands on it just hours earlier. Ever after, whenever I see the Shard from anywhere in the city, I can’t help but smile. Unlike when I was up there, shaking with fear taking this self-portrait. You’ve got two months to get yours before the tower tops out. Act before you think.
Don't trip
______________
This post is dedicated to “Gary”.
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April 7th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
Been waiting for these! My god, everything looks so flat from up there. There's so much you can't make out: the barbican towers; BT tower; centre point; even the Norwood Ridge is only visible because of the two red towers… Funny how so much of London can vanish but St Paul's still appears.
I love that you shot facing south, somehow it sometimes gets missed but the street patterns and the lights are really something.
I get that railway most days amazing to see it like this. It is my own linear London because I have always lived along it, so these photos show the city I know but in a way I haven't seen before.
Thanks for doing this and thanks for posting it.
April 7th, 2012 at 11:26 pm
Amazing photos, and an amazing adventure. But you know the Daily Mail is going to steal every one for a faux outrage story, right?
April 7th, 2012 at 11:46 pm
You sir are a legend. For months we have been looking at this tower, visible from anywhere in London, wondering what it might look like up there. There were never any shots of the best view in London! Thank you very much indeed for these.
April 8th, 2012 at 12:25 am
We miss you Gary!
April 8th, 2012 at 8:28 am
Wow, this is such a great post.
April 8th, 2012 at 8:54 am
Nice photos of some interesting views – just a shame the server is so slow, it's STILL loading :/ Would be a treat if you added them to flickr for those of us who are used to the speed
April 8th, 2012 at 9:01 am
AMAZING pics – have you put hi res versions anywhere? And (cheekily) in 16:9??
April 8th, 2012 at 9:16 am
wonderful! Love those pics. A scary and exhilarating tour!
April 8th, 2012 at 9:24 am
Hi Matt. As you can imagine, getting these pictures wasn't exactly easy, the hi res pics will remain under lock and key until someone shows up with a big pair of bolt croppers or a bag of gold coins. Thank for reading!
April 8th, 2012 at 9:25 am
Sorry JD, I think my hosting provider is being a bit overwhelmed at the moment – please give it a few minutes!
April 8th, 2012 at 9:26 am
Then they will pay like usual Andy! The only people who get stolen from are the ones who don't stand up to the media. I would be delighted if they ran the whole set, it will pay for me to go sneak into the Tokyo sewers this summer
April 8th, 2012 at 9:27 am
And thank you for reading it, I look forward to our next rooftop adventure Ellie!
April 8th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Not something I would be able to imagine doing myself, well done.
April 8th, 2012 at 10:24 am
Absolutely superb pictures
April 8th, 2012 at 10:43 am
Fantastic….music; photos; narrative and place hacking. Bradley….I'll buy you a drink next AAG/IBG we meet6…Edinburgh?
April 8th, 2012 at 11:01 am
Just F*****g fantastic!!! Awesome!!! Brilliant!!!
April 8th, 2012 at 11:19 am
Wow! I'm safely sat on the sofa and my legs are jelly just looking at those heights!
April 8th, 2012 at 11:30 am
That's a deal Paul! How's the Frisbee holding up? Warm weather is on its way…
April 8th, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Awe-inspiring photos. I can see the shard from where I live (Denmark Hill) and it gives me such pleasure to know someone did this! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to follow your lead….
April 8th, 2012 at 12:42 pm
absolutely fantastic.. speechless
April 8th, 2012 at 1:09 pm
Left me feeling vertiginous! You brave, wonderful men. Now where's the Cadburys Dairy Milk Tray please? Seriously, 'Place Hacking', what a great concept! Sort of 21st version of psychogeography.
April 8th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
was there a Tox tag up there?
Great job!! Were I younger and fitter!!
April 8th, 2012 at 5:27 pm
The railway does indeed look like a river or canal… and I love the way you can see the bend in the Thames from that height. Wow!
April 8th, 2012 at 5:35 pm
The photos are old, that was when the crane was in the middle of the core
April 8th, 2012 at 8:58 pm
You guys have balls of steel. My office is at the bottom of the tower on Borough High Street, and I've been following its progress since they first announced it in 2000. It makes me dizzy just looking up at it. Amazing job of climbing it. I hope you get your daily Mail payout. It seems inevitable.
April 8th, 2012 at 10:43 pm
my arsehole is flapping im fucking scared of heights
April 8th, 2012 at 11:02 pm
It's not going to be too long before one of you idiot's gets killed it's just a question of time!!
April 8th, 2012 at 11:04 pm
At the top of the Shard, the jimmies rustle softly.
April 9th, 2012 at 12:18 am
Absolutely Genius!!
April 9th, 2012 at 12:30 am
Well Done. Great Photos.
April 9th, 2012 at 12:38 am
surely the people who built it probably fired off a few photos. do something useful with yourselves, bunch of tossers.
April 9th, 2012 at 1:35 am
incredible pictures – just to think that these views would be normally denied to most people – thank you for opening up another view of our urban landscape
April 9th, 2012 at 1:40 am
the fox is so sore, so very sore. Too bad he'll never get to.
April 9th, 2012 at 1:57 am
What is so impressive? Construction workers do it every single day… while actually doing something productive.
April 9th, 2012 at 2:05 am
And there they are!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2127056/M…
With your permission I hope?
April 9th, 2012 at 2:08 am
Pictures are obviously fake, here is the original https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BEmZ3iSRNKs/T4…
April 9th, 2012 at 2:15 am
Well taken photographs. The street lighting is tremendous.
The power of the idea is inspiring. Its quite a beautiful, charming and courageous hobby and I applaud your sharing of this situationist pastime.
April 9th, 2012 at 3:17 am
OMG! YOu guys are SO cool!! IT’s just so crazy what you did!! WOW! OMG I just can’t believe it, that it SO SO crazy!! WOW! You guys are special – really fucking special – well done – big chuffin slap on the back!!! So fucking useful – such a HUGE! contribution to society….YOu shitting idiots..
April 9th, 2012 at 3:31 am
Just reading about the edge of the counter weight made me want to sick up. The height!
April 9th, 2012 at 3:35 am
Nothing special really-the crane driver will be back up there on Tuesday doing his job-and on Wednesday and Thursday….
April 9th, 2012 at 4:29 am
superb
im awe-struck
April 9th, 2012 at 5:05 am
Just so beautiful, the flatness really strikes me also, but the variety/ intensity of the lights all around are gorgeous and I love the way in a couple of the pictures the train lines run a thick trail of plain black through the scene.
April 9th, 2012 at 5:50 am
Having fear of heights, I couldn't even imagine how he did this. This guy is totally nuts.
April 9th, 2012 at 5:54 am
Amazing photos. Shame about the words.
April 9th, 2012 at 6:25 am
I gave up waiting for the photos to load !
April 9th, 2012 at 7:21 am
this is an interesting analysis of the photos…: http://paulclarke.com/photography/blog/shard-and-…
April 9th, 2012 at 8:56 am
Nice work! Love the adventure and thrill. Inspirational!
April 9th, 2012 at 9:30 am
wonderful achievement chaps.
April 9th, 2012 at 10:09 am
Well Done!
April 9th, 2012 at 10:56 am
Ace images but I can't condone the property breach.
April 9th, 2012 at 7:43 pm
Good, clean fun. Sure, the builders go up there every day – and probably get quite a buzz from it – but they take a lift and they're allowed to and it's their job so it's less fun by definition. Great photos.
April 9th, 2012 at 9:02 pm
The photos of the city are heart-stoppingly beautiful.
The pointed bitching about the security guard: not so much.
April 9th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Thanks a lot for increasing the levels of security/cctv/police state/big brother that this stunt will no doubt facilitate.
April 9th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
Same for you. Same for everyone.
April 9th, 2012 at 11:22 pm
I can't say I am surprised you were able to pull this off at the time you did. Quite embarrassing for the owners and property management companies, whether that was the intention, or not.
April 9th, 2012 at 11:25 pm
Is everyone aware that these guys are climbing a crane. If you want photo's of a bloke climbing a crane then just hang around outside the shard first thing monday morning, give a camera to the crane operator when he rocks up for work and ask him to take a few pictures for you. Job done.
April 9th, 2012 at 11:42 pm
Photos are AMAZING!
April 9th, 2012 at 11:55 pm
cool story bro!
April 10th, 2012 at 5:12 am
Nice work! this brings back memory of doing something similar. In 1993 the infamous Capper Pass chimney in East Yorkshire just outside a village called North Ferriby, was the largest single flume chimney in the world (or Europe) was set for demolition. Prior to this they knocked down the kilns under it, so providing complete access to the inside of the chimney and bypassing the locked doors. So myself and a few of my friends scrabbled over the bricks and twisted metal and got ourselves onto the stair way between the outer and inner layer of the chimney and scaled our way to the top. Quite a a hell of a buzz. This is it being demolished http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ26Hdts4_w. We've done some similar pre-demolition exploration in Hong Kong as well, in an old incinerator and also flats due for demolition. Probably none of these little adventures have improved my cancer risks.
April 10th, 2012 at 6:44 am
AS A BUTTMAD, BOOTLICKING, BETA RIGHT WINGER I’M MAD AS FUCK THAT YOU GUYS ARE COMMITTING VIOLENT PROPERTY CRIMES. YOU SHOULD BE AT HOME WORSHIPPING JESUS, PROCREATING WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX, AND JACKING OFF TO THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN.
April 10th, 2012 at 6:57 am
Think I might have to follow you guys, waiting for your next madcap adenture – though how you're going to top this is anyone's guess (pun probably intended)
April 10th, 2012 at 6:58 am
Though I live in Cape Town and have never been to London, I love London!
April 10th, 2012 at 7:34 am
Thanks for doing and sharing what I couldn't ever conceive of doing, not just because of age (74) but because I have no head for heights. Wonderful pix. Quite inspiring.
April 10th, 2012 at 8:17 am
Sublime!
April 10th, 2012 at 8:51 am
Bloody irresponsible climbing up there with a with a tripod…. you could've 'ad someone's eye out!
April 10th, 2012 at 9:14 am
Rebellious with peaceful means. Just how I like it. Well done I am impressed !
April 10th, 2012 at 9:20 am
Seek some more fame why dont you. Your the sickest!
April 10th, 2012 at 9:36 am
Staggering perspective, in all senses. Keep going and, above all, keep a good hold.
April 10th, 2012 at 10:33 am
yup..nobody's getting out alive of this one, foxy!:)
April 10th, 2012 at 10:42 am
Wot no Base jump?
Well climbed gents.
April 10th, 2012 at 11:48 am
Astounding achievement. Congrats from a photographer with vertigo
)
April 10th, 2012 at 11:55 am
what happened to "Gary"????
April 10th, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Great to see that David Cameron cannot control the movement of every atom in London as he would like to – OK lads , onward to 10 D St
April 10th, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Great photos, thankyou. Please take care of yourselves.
April 10th, 2012 at 6:25 pm
How do i join? I want to do that SO MUCH!!
I am in awe!
April 10th, 2012 at 8:10 pm
My Balls tightened just looking at your photos. Absolutely f@*king tremendous. Never let go lads, never let go!
April 10th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
I guess my last comment have one too many expletive, albeit disguised. So once again absolutley bloody marvellously realised night out on the Tower. It tightened my testes just looking at the photos, always a sign of oncoming vertigo for me. Tremendous.
Never let go lads. Never let go of your dreams!
April 10th, 2012 at 9:13 pm
oooooooh my legs are just going floppy looking at the heigths!!!!!!!!!!!
April 10th, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Great shots guys.
I work for the company who’s Crane your climbing.
Made my day and when do I join
April 10th, 2012 at 10:18 pm
I thought I saw someone climbing up there that night – and I could see your glasses!
April 11th, 2012 at 12:16 am
Ooooooooooooohhhh! You are amazing guys! Thanks for the breathtaking pictures.
April 11th, 2012 at 10:21 am
If Carlsberg did photography… they would hire you guys!! epic adventure for sure for sure!!
April 11th, 2012 at 12:29 pm
Awesome guys! Love your work!
April 11th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Top photos mate and good luck to you all
regards Mark
(ex Uk-Bungee Club JM 1994-97)
April 11th, 2012 at 7:01 pm
You're a menace. Old pics, old story. Trespass is trespass. If one of you gets killed or damages equipment that workers rely on, it will be your fault. No doubt you will blame others. Your actions wouldn't be tolerated in the US. Unfortunately, the UK police have more pressing engagements. Hopefully, the client will press charges. Not clever enough to hide your identity. Let down by your own ego and vanity. Perhaps someone may walk around your house and post the pics online. Downfallen had style. You do not.
April 11th, 2012 at 7:41 pm
[...] Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Bradley Garrett, cultural geographer, who climbed at the top of the Shard. [...]
April 11th, 2012 at 9:34 pm
WOW. Astounding. Very naughty of you guys…but so amazing at the same time! I live in Bermondsey and have always wanted to scale The Shard as I've seen it grow, even more tempted now.
But be careful and be safe! Fiez
April 12th, 2012 at 12:27 am
If they are going to have an observation platform on the Shard, you just gave the owners a great pre-opening advert._Pictures took my breath away. To have the quiet of the moment without all the tourists must have been inspiring._Thanks for the effort.
F.Lotz Fort Lee NJ USA
April 12th, 2012 at 1:16 am
call me next time!
April 12th, 2012 at 9:44 am
Incredible, would love to do that, well done!!
Was just wondering what poem your quote by E E Cummins came from?
April 12th, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Wow. You guys should be given medals for the quality of these photos. How long did it take to build up the courage to climb it?
April 13th, 2012 at 11:57 am
Exiting adventure!!!!
But take care, I guess you are concerned about the risks you are taking…. Anyway, nice photos!!!
April 13th, 2012 at 2:09 pm
Well done, guys!
April 13th, 2012 at 7:04 pm
The sun recently ran this story about you http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4245864…
April 13th, 2012 at 11:38 pm
what happen to 'Gary'????
April 14th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Wanted to do something like this for a long time… never knew others would have the same passion..
I'll do this, once I'm at a London Uni, whatever skyscraper is being constructed I'll hack!
So in a years time I'll start!
hopefully there will be new constructions in progress then.
Can I ask how you found other people who love to place hack? From work or… because I doubt anyone at Uni would want to do this with me….
will you be around London in years to come by any chance…
(email back preferably) thanks
April 18th, 2012 at 9:32 pm
I was only once in London in 1998.I live in sf ca usa thus it was so much fun being there. There were no big buildings in London yet. I must go back and see it again. Thanks for the pictures -M-
April 20th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
[...] factories in its best of 2011 post. Love the pics, love how he got them. In the same spirit, see Place Hacking’s headline-grabbing trip up The Shard. Share this:TwitterEmailFacebookPrintDiggLike this:LikeBe the [...]
April 21st, 2012 at 7:35 pm
[...] Ihm verdanken wir Bilder vom Aufstieg selbst. [...]
April 22nd, 2012 at 10:00 am
[...] for wanting a bit of a sit down.They’ve got some cracking guests: Bradley Garrett – the placehacker who climbed the Shard – food critic Jay Rayner, scientist extraordinaire Simon Singh, comedians Scott Capurro and [...]
April 22nd, 2012 at 11:17 am
[...] got some cracking guests: Bradley Garrett – the placehacker who climbed the Shard – food critic Jay Rayner, scientist extraordinaire Simon Singh, comedians Scott Capurro and [...]
April 23rd, 2012 at 2:39 pm
[...] The gonzo challenge of exploring and documenting the forbidden spaces of decommissioned factories, derelict hospitals and abandoned culverts isn’t new. But urbex started making headlines again last week when a group called the London Consolidation Crew scaled the 1000-foot Shard, currently London’s tallest building site, and posted images of their climb on the internet. [...]