Interior of an elevator shaft from an elevator surfer's point of view

Elevator surfing is an activity involving moving around on top of elevators, or jumping between moving elevators where possible. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Elevator (disambiguation). ...

Elevator surfing is legal in most locations and not 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 or be knocked off and fall to their deaths. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Elevator surfing typically occurs in skyscrapers or on college campuses, especially those with tall buildings. Most large buildings have groups of elevators close together, which are most commonly used. Taipei 101, the worlds tallest skyscraper by roof height on high rise. ... College (Latin collegium) is a term most often used today to denote an educational institution. ... The Universitätscampus Wien, Austria ( details) Campus (plural: campuses) is derived from the (identical) Latin word for field or open space. English gets the words camp and campus from this origin. ...

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 and open the safety hatch. They then climb on top, release the emergency switch, and pull the last person out.

Another method of entry involves opening the exterior doors on the floor above the elevator, and jumping on from there. Doors are either forced or opened with an elevator key. While easier to execute, this is uncommon unless no others are nearby. Such an entry typically occurs while the building is closed. This typically means there isn't much movement with the elevators, which lowers the risk and involvement. Accomplices will sometimes press buttons on the inside of the elevators to provide the movement. Movement can also be provided by means of service controls located on top of the elevator car.

Recent history

In recent years practises of both elevator surfing, and its close relative train surfing, have become more widespread. In Toronto, late 2005, this fact was reiterated as the death of an eighteen year old boy was highly documented in the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail newspapers. Train surfing is a dangerous (and usually illegal) thrill-seeking activity which involves riders clinging to the outside of a moving train, sometimes jumping off either before the train goes too fast or after it has slowed down again. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Toronto Star is Canadas highest-circulation newspaper, though its print edition is distributed almost entirely within Ontario. ... The Globe and Mail is a Canadian English-language nationally distributed newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. ...

The person in question, Canadian-born Louis Tornero Moffit was a political activist and renowned adrenaline junkie. In apparent defiance of the development of Toronto's Four Seasons Centre (a state of the art theatre complex) Louis had intended along with unknown accomplices to disrupt the completion of the theatre through undertaking a BASE jump within the five-tiered auditorium, seating over two thousand. The thrill seekers had intended to record the jump on hand-held video recorders and post the footage on the internet. However this would never come to be, due to the seizure of the video footage by the Toronto Police Service following the tragic death of one of the involved. Adrenaline Rush redirects here. ... Construction and fundraising for the Four Seasons Centre in May 2006. ... BASE jumping is the sport of using a parachute to jump from fixed objects. ... Two auxillary police officers in Ramsden Park The Toronto Police Service (TPS), formerly the Metropolitan Toronto Police, is the police force for the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

According to a report released by the TPS, Louis Tornero Moffit (deceased) had attempted to "surf" on the roof of an elevator as a further stunt when his parachute malfunctioned and deployed within the shaft. His accomplices operating the controls from within the elevator are rumoured to have then abandoned their mission, and their friend. Emergency services had been notified early in the morning following several witness reports of masked individuals leaving the cordoned off construction site. Louis was pronounced dead on the scene with cause of death being noted as: strangulation and massive trauma to the head and abdomen due to his harness and parachute becoming entangled with the machinery of the ascending elevator. This article is about the device. ...

Completion of the Four Seasons Centre went ahead as planned, with the grand opening taking place on the eve of June 14, 2006. Construction and fundraising for the Four Seasons Centre in May 2006. ... is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Notes

ISSN, or International Standard Serial Number, is the unique eight-digit number applied to a periodical publication including electronic serials. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 239th day of the year (240th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Greger, Gene (2003-10-05). Urban Exploring Techniques: Elevator Surfing. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
• Kruszelnicki, Karl. Surfing Medical Madness. ABC. Retrieved on 2006-08-27.