What to do after getting past steam

[jamhaw]

After I get past the steam the walkthrough says to enter the ventilation, I do that but then I can not seem to get out of the vents.

[Thaliur]

What exactly causes you to get stuck in there? Did you get lost or can't you open the exit? It's been some time ago since I last played that part.

[Penumbra]

I had trubble there. In the vents there is another vent, which I kept banging with my axe and it never broke. Turns out you need to open it like a door. So just un-equip any weapons and click on the vent.

[Thaliur]

Hey, remember the first pragraphs of the walkthrough? The ones I personally added to avoid something like this?
Especially this part:

Don't go Freeman on the mines.
I know it's tempting to always have something ready to beat up anything that moves, but as long as you're carrying a weapon, you will not be able to interact with your environment (apart from beating on it). So something that can actually be moved around might appear static. This way you might miss some solutions to puzzles.

[jamhaw]

Well I just assumed that getting through that vent would be like getting through other vents namely you go freeman.

p.s. Who is this freeman or is it a brand of video games?

[Thaliur]

Who is this freeman or is it a brand of video games?

Gordon Freeman is the main hero (also known as player character ) of all the Half Life games, and his most famous weapons are a crowbar and, though only recently, a gravity manipulator that allows you to throw pretty much any object at your enemies.
My warning was mainly aimed at the crowbar, of course.