14 Replies to “Contest #616”

  1. Bus Depot № 7
    Boryspilska Street, Kiev, Ukraine

    50°25’37.89″ N 30°41’14.16″ E

  2. Abandoned bus graveyard in Kiev. Coordinates 50.426553°, 30.686220°.

  3. “On the outskirts of Kiev there is a unique Bus Depot № 7. The building with an area of more than 20,000 square meters is in emergency condition and in use as a huge tomb for hundreds of used buses. Once we made our way through the labyrinth of the bushed bus skeletons to make these photos, first time published. Where is situated this bus graveyard? On the outskirts of Kiev, DVRZ neighbourhood. Borispolskaya 15 street”, @ 50.426499° 30.686427°. “If you will look on this area use satelite there will be a huge circle – there is the main distinctive feature of this depot. Because of the unusual design of this building in the people nicknamed “circus”. The diameter of the “circus” is more than 160 m. The parking lot could accommodate about 300 buses.”
    I’m an old lady, like 86 y-o, but I’m fascinated by “urbex”, Urban exploration: “Urban exploration (often shortened as UE, urbex and sometimes known as roof-and-tunnel hacking) is the exploration of man-made structures, usually abandoned ruins or not usually seen components of the man-made environment. Photography and historical interest/documentation are heavily featured in the hobby and, although it may sometimes involve trespassing onto private property, this is not always the case. Urban exploration may also be referred to as draining (a specific form of urban exploration where storm drains or sewers are explored), urban spelunking, urban rock climbing, urban caving, building hacking, or mousing. The nature of this activity presents various risks, including both physical danger and, if done illegally and/or without permission, the possibility of arrest and punishment. Some activities associated with urban exploration violate local or regional laws and certain broadly interpreted anti-terrorism laws, or can be considered trespassing or invasion of privacy. Exploration sites: Abandonments, Active buildings, Catacombs, Sewers and storm drains, Transit tunnels, Utility tunnels. The rise in the popularity of urban exploration can be attributed to its increased media attention. Recent television shows, such as Urban Explorers on the Discovery Channel, MTV’s Fear, and the Ghost Hunting exploits of The Atlantic Paranormal Society have packaged the hobby for a popular audience. The fictional film After… (2006), a hallucinatory thriller set in Moscow’s underground subways, features urban explorers caught up in extreme situations. Talks and exhibits on urban exploration have appeared at the fifth and sixth Hackers on Planet Earth Conference, complementing numerous newspaper articles and interviews. Another source of popular information is Cities of the Underworld, a documentary series which ran for three seasons on the History Channel, starting in 2007. This series roamed around the world, showing little-known underground structures in remote locales, as well as right under the feet of densely packed city-dwellers. With the rise in the relative popularity of the hobby due to this increased focus, there has been increasing discussion on whether the extra attention has been beneficial to urban exploration as a whole. The unspoken rule of urban exploring is “take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints”, but because of the rising popularity, many individuals who may have other intentions are creating a concern among many property owners. Urban exploration is a hobby that comes with a number of inherent dangers. For example, storm drains are not designed with human access as their primary use. They can be subject to flash flooding and bad air. There have been a number of deaths in storm water drains, but these are usually during floods, and the victims are normally not urban explorers. Many old abandoned structures feature hazards such as unstable structures, unsafe floors, broken glass, the presence of unknown chemicals and other harmful substances (most notably asbestos), stray voltage, and entrapment hazards. Other risks include freely roaming guard dogs and hostile squatters. Some abandoned locations may be heavily guarded with motion detectors and active security patrols, while others are more easily accessible and carry less risk of discovery. Asbestos is a long-term health risk for urban explorers, along with breathing in contaminants from dried bird feces, which can cause a condition known as pigeon-breeder’s lung, a form of hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Urban explorers may use dust masks and respirators to alleviate this danger. Some sites are occasionally used by substance abusers for either recreation or waste disposal, and there may be used or infected syringe needles en route, such as those commonly used with heroin. The growing popularity of the activity has resulted not just in increased attention from explorers, but also from vandals and law enforcement. The illicit aspects of urban exploring, which may include trespassing and breaking and entering, have brought along with them critical articles in mainstream newspapers. In Australia, the website of the Sydney Cave Clan was shut down by lawyers for the Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales, after they raised concerns that the portal could “risk human safety and threaten the security of its infrastructure”. Another website belonging to the Bangor Explorers Guild was criticized by the Maine State Police for potentially encouraging behavior that “could get someone hurt or killed”. The Toronto Transit Commission has used the Internet to crimp subway tunnel explorations, going as far as to send investigators to various explorers’ homes. Jeff Chapman, who authored Infiltration, stated that genuine urban explorers “never vandalize, steal or damage anything”. The thrill comes from that of “discovery and a few nice pictures”. Some explorers will also request permission for entry in advance. That’s all folks (for today)!

  4. Bus Garage Number Seven, Darnytsia, Kyiv.
    Lat: 50°25’35.57″N
    Lon: 30°41’10.34″E

  5. Also I am currently marked with six(6) point’s but should only be five(5) as I only got ‘The Edge Labyrinth” after the guess was published.

    Richard.

  6. Fantastic !
    50°25’35.97″ N 30°41’11.41″ E
    Bus graveyard, Bus depot No 7
    Kiev, Borispolskaya 15 street
    Building with more than 20.000 square meters

  7. Actually, you should have 9 — I’ve been late in updating the leaderboard. You got the first 3 (#611-#613) with 2 points each, the #614 after the hint for 1, then #615 for 2.

    Thank you for keeping us honest!! I’ll update the leaderboard in a few minutes to reflect everything through 614.

    Paul

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