With origins in vadding, elevator surfing is an activity (some would call it an extreme sport) involving moving around on top of elevators.

Elevator surfing is illegal in most locations and very dangerous. Several people have died elevator surfing [1]. Surfers can be crushed between the elevator and the top, sides, or bottom of the shaft, be struck by the counterweight, or simply slip off the elevator (or be knocked off by a passing elevator) and fall to their deaths.

Elevator surfing typically occurs in skyscrapers or on college campuses, especially those with tall buildings. Most large buildings have groups of elevators close together. This is the typical location for elevator surfing.

To begin, participants will usually go into such a building early in the morning, before too many of the people with valid reasons to be in the building arrive to use the elevators. Once in an elevator, they hold the elevator between floors, while they open the safety hatch, and climb on top, then release the emergency switch, and pull the last person out.

Another method of entry involves forcing the doors open on the floor above the elevator, and jumping on from there. While easier to execute, this can really only happen if no one is nearby. Such an entry typically occurs while the building is closed. This typically means there isn't much movement with the elevators, which makes the surfing more boring. Accomplices could be pressing buttons on the inside of the elevators to provide the movement.

External links

• Newspaper article on the death of an elevator surfer
• Discussion of elevator surfing, with photos