When the weather got cold, the Woody crew always found a way to warm up! This particular adventure’s epic group consisted of: Van, Hollie, Sarah, Matt, Tori, Thomas, Joe, Kika, and me; in 2008, we set out to trek the legendary steam tunnels that run under the UVA grounds. The origin of our destination was the entrance behind the Dells which took us on the path of the “New System” that led us under McCormick road all the way to the Stadium parking lot!
So apparently Steam Tunneling is a Class 1 Misdemeanor but I wasn’t aware of this at the time nor was I truly worried about being caught! We were respectively quiet as we descended into the manholes, and we were all sober of course, for I’d heard the heat down there was unbearable when the temperatures were up (even though when we went on a February day I had no complaints!) and there were iron beams that were dangerous if you weren’t paying attention to when you should duck or hop over a pipe. Signs below warn of the asbestos that lies undisturbed… we’re probably all going to die at the same time, how sweet! It’s rumored that students used to use the tunnels to get to class on cold days, but they weren’t even constructed until the 1950s under Darden’s reign. One of the highlights of our trip was the Jesus figure that was spraypainted down there… he was kind of creepy but so revered in the spraypainting community that no one would dare disturb him.
One thing I would attend to if you are planning a steam tunneling trip is to make sure you have boys or someone with enough upper body strength to push open the grid for whenever you’re ready to climb out. There are a lot of exits, but most are locked and chained, I was a little disappointed that we couldn’t get into the stadium! Alas, my manfriend has claimed that he will not return to the slightly claustrophobic confines of the tunnels, so it would appear that my days too are over…but I still cherish the memory!
“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” – e. e. cummings
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