There does appear to be a safety harness...that's been pulled up and is sitting at the top of the climbing wall. It's...definitely a high wall.

It's barely possible to see that, though, because as the wall gets higher it starts to curve back towards the entrance.

The opposite wall has a tangle of exposed pipes sticking out higher up, some of which might support a rope. Then again, it might not.

It'd be interesting to loop the rope he's got over the safety harness, as a presumably more appropriate anchorage than the pipe of less-known characteristics, but that doesn't seem at all likely to work.

You rated for falls?

i've broken a loooot of bones. we're gonna be fine.

(Nope, still not enthused about the idea.)

He rearranges the rope to have one slightly-weighted free end and attempts to toss it up over the highest reachable piece of the mess of pipe.

It's not hard to get it over the pipe.

The pipes snake up the wall all the way to the top: it seems like it'd be easier to climb them than the actual wall.

Okay, sure, but are they suitable for climbing, or safety, at all.

He ties together the ends of the rope into a loop, sits in it, and bounces on it a bit. Any alarming wobbles or creaks? Not that that's the whole story.

There's a very slight wobble, but overall it seems pretty structurally sound!

Right. This wall is obviously meant for climbing, but it's tough at the top. Pipes aren't exactly rated for climbing but they were obviously put here on purpose. Any thoughts on what the puzzle is?

...it kind of looks impossible at the top. the wall, i mean. unless you're the plastic man or something.

maybe there's something weird about the pipes once you're on them?

I can't say I've tried, but climbs like that are possible, and the pipes are, like, this is not the type of thing you trust your weight to. But on the other hand we've got the rope which is not a required item.

He unknots the rope and ties one end around the other line, then gently pulls on the other end so that it's securely tied around a pipe. The other end gets to be tied into several loops that can be slid on the rope going up.

Not really the right rope for the job, but…

He starts climbing. The loops slip down a bit when he puts weight on them each time, but there is overall upward progress.

i guess i wouldn't know. i've gone up a lot more pipes than climbing walls.

And if you haven't had one turn out to not be nearly as rigid or attached to the wall it's sticking out of as it looked, that was luck.

He reaches the bottom of the mess of pipes and transfers his weight to some horizontal pipes instead of the rope.

i definitely have. i told you. lots of broken bones.

The pipe is uncomfortably warm under his hands.

Well, there's the catch.

He unties the rope loops awkwardly (one hand being occupied with hanging on) then tosses the end up again, aiming for the uppermost suitable pipe. Misses, keeps trying.

...is that pipe getting hotter, or is it just them?

Keep throwing. Hm is there a different pipe that is less toasty yes there is oh wait that one heats up too. Great.

He gets the rope through and hurries to getting it tied off.

what science are they even trying to do here?

Theories cinch yank tug can wait!

He skips the fancy loops and starts ascending just on the pipes, with the rope partly wrapped around his body to keep hold of it.

The further he climbs, the faster the pipes heat up.

And the faster they heat up, the stronger the urge to grab on and not let go.

It’s clearly not happening on purpose. He’s trying to keep it down, but it’s there.

That's — a little bit useful, to counter the flinch reaction.

He keeps climbing.

It seems like the vertical pipes heat a little slower than the horizontal ones. This starts to matter, at this speed: it would be easy to stay on one long enough to burn yourself.

Hurry. Keep rope snugly hung onto in case of slips.

It goes smoothly for a while.

Then, near the top, one of the pipes is immediately hot enough to burn.

Aaaaa.

He jerks back and his other hand isn't really holding on well enough. He slips, still wrapped in the rope, then manages to grab the rope with one lightly burned and one now lightly rope-burned hand. He dangles from the rope over empty space with feet loosely hooked on the pipes.