Picking up where we last left off, we eventually managed to find a safer way past the big slide where Controleman ended up taking a bit of a spill. A manhole in a relatively discreet area nearby allowed us to climb back down and continue further upstream. So without further adieu..

Standing below a bit of natural light pouring in from above a manhole shaft.

Judging by the pre-fabricated sections of reinforced concrete pipe, it looks as though this portion was constructed a bit more recently. Sometime around the 1970s, perfectly round RCP seemed to have become the standard material for sewers and storm drains in Montreal. It can make for somewhat dull underground experiences, especially when long stretches of the stuff are involved. Fortunately, this particular sewer ended up having a nice combination of other features to help break the monotony.

The visibility was fairly poor, which we’d later discover was the result of cold air blasting in through a little 6″ pipe. During the autumn and winter months, the air inside sewers stays a few degrees warmer relative to aboveground temperatures. When outside air finds a way in, it can can lead to somewhat unfavorable exploring conditions. In this case, a dense “fog” had filled the sewer. The lights of our headlamps only penetrated a few feet in front of us. Regardless, we began making our way northwards underneath Cote-St-Luc.

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