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Got back home in one piece it seems. TP was nice enough to drop me off at Kipling station (Instead of Square One) so I didn't have to take the Markham bus. (Whew!)
I was able to get in touch with Squishy (amazing huh?) and since she was gonna go out and get a book tomorrow (well today) and thought that I could go with her or something. I figured that was a good idea and told her that I would call her after the climb. Unfortunately I couldn't get in touch with either Laz or MPS. Some people are way too hard to catch. I left a message for both of them, but seeing as Laz wanted to go climbing as well, if he didn't call me that night, there was no way he would be able to make it.
This morning started off a bit cold, bit I figured that I'd be a little hot during the climb and only wore a T-shirt. I made it down to the CN Tower a bit after nine, but fortunately TP hadn't arrived yet (we had agreed to meet at nine). I got my coat and bag checked, and got registered. Just after I got out of the registration area, there she was! So I didn't have to wait too long. A fair number of people had already finished by then (The thing started at 6) and a number of them were wearing the T-shirts that were given to them with their times on the back. There were a good number of them that were under 20 minutes, and even one at 14 minutes (I found out from TP that the shortest time was 8 minutes - 4 steps a second!!) But even at 16 minutes, that's 2 steps a second!! Oh man, that's pretty fast.. and all upstairs!
Anyway, when we got to the base of the tower, there were very few people there, but a considerable number of water bottles (some people I guess didn't hear that no water bottles were allowed unless you had something to carry it in). With very little fanfare, we started up the stairs. It was your typical small metal staircase which could be considered a tad claustrophobic if you don't consider the empty shaft right next to the stairwell. Anyway, it wasn't even that obvious that the thing had started until I asked someone. Well, I told TP that I'd see her at the top and took off. I bumped into a number of large groups of (tired) people that tended to clog the stairwell (you could only have two people go up side by side). Made it quite annoying to get up quickly, and the number of these groups stayed constant all the way up the staircase.
I started to notice myself getting tired halfway up, and my lower leg muscles (the ones that control the feet) started to get really sore three quarters of the way up. I couldn't tell if the air was getting thinner or not, but it sure wasn't easy doing the last couple hundred feet. Near the end, I could hear voices above me hollering.. telling us:
"You're nearly there, just a few more flights to go!!"
That was a pretty big encouragement and I sprinted the final couple of flights. Reaching the top, I was congratulated by the people up there and had the time stamped on my time card. Then they told us to go through the door and head for the observation lounge to get our water and relax (we get a free bottle of water). What they didn't tell you was that the observation level was another five flights up!!
*groan*
Let's just say that I was trés sore by the time I hit the top. Still, it was pretty kewl, and I think I'll do it again. I'm glad we went at nine. By the time we were leaving, there were many more people (lineups) for the event, so I'll try for eight in the morning next time..
For those of you who were wondering, and those who were placing bets (the latest spread I believe was ten minutes between TP and me) I had a climb time of 17:34, while TP had a climb time of 32:20.
Afterward, I phoned up Laz to see how he was doing.. I think I woke him up. He asked me when the climb was.. *sigh*. Well, obviously he didn't go, but I did drop by his place to check it out (it's my first time there). He told me on the phone to use the back entrance. Well, I got there, and I couldn't find an easy way to the back of the house (the alleyway looked kinda blocked). So I rang the doorbell at the front. After waiting for a few minutes, this girl came down and I asked her if Laz was in. She told me:
"Sorry, there's no one here by that name, maybe you should try the back, through the alley."
So, I went to the back and there I found two entrances. one going down and one going to the back of the main floor of the house. I figured that the one leading to the back was the same as for the front, so I knocked on the door that led down. Knocked for a long, long time.. After ten to fifteen minutes, some girl in a bathrobe FINALLY came to the door and I asked her if Laz was in. She told me:
"Next door."
*sigh* At least this time it REALLY was his place (It was the last door after all). Seems like the house was divided in o three sections, upstairs, the main floor and the basement with each section having it's own entrance (the front for the upstairs and the back for the rest). HNT's bedroom was kinda small. Actually, it was VERY small, with enough space for his bed and computer. (and big monitor - he just got a new 21" monitor) I got to meet his roommate and her cat (Clementine). All nice and good. Played a few demos and got some lunch.. and showed him the remaining episodes of Jo Jo's.
That's about it for now. Called Squishy and figured out that we wouldn't have time to meet (maybe tomorrow?). Too bad, it was a really nice day today. We'll have to see about tomorrow. This will be it for now, I guess I'll be getting a haircut tonight or tomorrow morning, I still have to figure out when TP will pick me up. Stay tuned.
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