What has your guys' experience been climbing roofs of buildings that aren't abandoned?

Whenever I have done this, it's usually late at night when no one else is in the building, and thus I don't often run into problems. One time though, a friend and I climbed onto a building during the afternoon, and a security guard spotted my friend trying to get up, after I had already made it up. I had to find a hatch, go down into the building and quickly make my leave because the security guards were by the entry point I took from the outside. Luckily we both got away with no problem. Curious to see if anyone else has similar experiences.

It really all depends. I've had easy luck where I may just wave at a person at the front desk and hit the stairs or elevator and proceed without issue. Other times it doesn't work out from the beginning. Sometimes security or police flip their shit. One time some employee of a hotel came out to the roof when I was out there to smoke some dope and he said "I won't tell if you won't tell".

I do tend to do after dark normally. I also don't do rooftops often but that's my 2 cents.

What kind of active building?

An active Federal reserve bank building?

Active car wash building?

Tough question..

It can attract more attention than you ever dream possible
Being on the Chester Power Station with permission is one of the things that yielded me a surprise visit by two very polite and professional FBI Agents.

Most importantly don't fall... especially in the dark.
Every step counts, use extreme caution near the edge of the ledge.
You get one chance...

I have made it a personal goal to climb as many roofs as I possibly can.

I used to take unofficial tours of a mall roof I worked near. I had a routine route and everything. I'd always take coworkers up there, and man, do I have a bunch of stories.

One time I took a group of 4 with me. As we were at the highest point of the mall roof, one guy from my group spotted a blart driving his car around on his routine patrol in the distant parking lot. Guess the guy in my group got spooked because he booked it as if we just got caught. Made the whole group panic. Got to see another groupie bash his shins into a hard-to-see horizontal pipe at a full sprint. The other two were laying on the ground worried about being seen. Pretty chaotic. Finally got everyone to calm down and regroup, we couldn't find the guy who freaked first though. Turns out he had jumped off the roof onto an electrical box and mad dashed for his car. Never taking that spastic on a roof again.

Another time I was alone and almost walked right into a blart in low light conditions. His lit cigarette tipped me off though. Scared the living hell out of me.

One of my favorites though :
I was alone, it was about 3am. I found an unlocked hatch and decided it would be fun to go inside. It lead to the back entrances of all the mall stores, was really maze-like. I was walking around, doing some good ol' fashioned U.E. when I hear a door open, followed by the rhythmic footsteps of boots and keys jingling. I didn't have enough time to climb back up the ladder for the roof hatch so I just tiptoed as fast as I could in the opposite direction of the footsteps. Eventually hit a door and mad dashed for an the mall exit.

Sometimes I still go up there in broad daylight during my lunch break.

Posted by 2Xplorations What kind of active building? An active Federal reserve bank building? Active car wash building? Tough question..

I've actually climbed the outside of a bank before without any problem. Probably pretty stupid, but it was late at night and one of my buddies had done the climb before with no issues.

I'm not a fan of roofing active building because of the potential trespassing charges. That being said I have gone to the top of a few buildings, and the view is best at night in my opinion. I went to the top of a 40 story hotel near my hometown around midnight and the hotel manager eventually caught on (thanks to security cameras) he came to the roof to collect us and showered us with threats of criminal charges. The police were called and I managed to talk my way out of any trouble but I'm still banned from the property to this day. Be careful when roofing and don't stay too long. You may not be as lucky as I was and you could be hit with some heavy charges...

Isn't rooftopping basically going onto roofs of active buildings anyway?

Best to go during operation hours when there is more foot traffic in and out and it's harder for security to notice you come and go.

I regularly access roofs of active buildings on my school's campus, and at least for my purpose I generally only go at night. Honestly my best advise would be to spend a little extra time casing the building, taking note of cameras, watching the habits of security guards and finding out the schedule of pesky janitors. Also stay extra vigilant for silent alarms on doors, and cut your losses if you think you set one off.

There's a place in my hometown where there are rows of buildings next to each other all generally the same height. I was on a roof once on a split level building and came across the open window to someone's apartment. I didn't go in, but damn, anyone could have walked right in and taken anything they wanted, including the 3 or so bottles of wine on the counter next to the window.

I did a lot of rooftopping in New York City for a while. Bridges, active buildings, construction sites. It gets quite old after a while. Not to mention the risk you are taking every time. Speaking from experience, dont waste your time. Theres tons of other thrilling things you can spend your time do. Ive had friends been charged for felony trespassing and know of people that have fallen and died. But if you do decide to have a go at it, here is a photo that was taken back in the fall.

click to view

Posted by Corey Gunz I did a lot of rooftopping in New York City for a while. Bridges, active buildings, construction sites. It gets quite old after a while. Not to mention the risk you are taking every time. Speaking from experience, dont waste your time. Theres tons of other thrilling things you can spend your time do. Ive had friends been charged for felony trespassing and know of people that have fallen and died. But if you do decide to have a go at it, here is a photo that was taken back in the fall. click to view

I see you are leaning back in the pic towards safety; a wise posture
At the edge there is no margin for error.
One slip or wind gust is all it takes.
I never got tired of climbing, but risk verses reward always applies.
Never hesitate to bug out if you need to.
You get one shot to get it right, results are permanent.
Part of what makes it fun.
No point in doing it if your heart and soul aren't in it though.
Kudos to you for your honesty with yourself.

Posted by Steed Isn't rooftopping basically going onto roofs of active buildings anyway? Best to go during operation hours when there is more foot traffic in and out and it's harder for security to notice you come and go.

From my experience, that would be the best idea.

I've done it a few times. I'd recommend doing it at night/when no one's around.

One time though, a friend of mine invited me to go rooftopping with him and another one of his friends. I made the mistake of not asking any questions about where we were going. Fast forward, we ended up on top of a 10 story government building with the cops waiting at the bottom of the only exit. Wasn't to happy with my friend's choice of building.

I'm quite lucky. I live in a small town, and while I did have a few nasty words from police when I was spotted rooftopping, generally my photos have circulated around the local community and the townsfolk know me as their local rooftopper. I made the front page of the local paper and everything. It's completely in contrast to how a lot of people operate though. I got lucky.

It was quite windy that day. And being 75 stories above the streets of New York sitting on a ledge was quite unsettling haha. We actually got caught that day walking out towards the exit. Part of me misses it. The thrill and the adventure. The risks just far outweighs the reward for me.

Posted by blackhawk I see you are leaning back in the pic towards safety; a wise posture At the edge there is no margin for error. One slip or wind gust is all it takes. I never got tired of climbing, but risk verses reward always applies. Never hesitate to bug out if you need to. You get one shot to get it right, results are permanent. Part of what makes it fun. No point in doing it if your heart and soul aren't in it though. Kudos to you for your honesty with yourself.

Active sites have a lot of people watching and dealing with guards and keycards and whatever else is a hassle. That's why I always preferred construction. Only 1 guard to sneak around and a guaranteed open roof

Posted by superphoenix Active sites have a lot of people watching and dealing with guards and keycards and whatever else is a hassle. That's why I always preferred construction. Only 1 guard to sneak around and a guaranteed open roof

That isnt always the case. Especially in my area. Structos tend to have just as much security as active buildings. Cameras, guard, motion sensors. They have it all. At least active buildings are a little less suspicious. A guy with a backpack and street clothes doesnt necessarily fit in at a construction site.

Posted by Corey Gunz That isnt always the case. Especially in my area. Structos tend to have just as much security as active buildings. Cameras, guard, motion sensors. They have it all. At least active buildings are a little less suspicious. A guy with a backpack and street clothes doesnt necessarily fit in at a construction site.

Most construction supers know who belongs there... even more so at demo sites.

Posted by blackhawk Most construction supers know who belongs there... even more so at demo sites.

Exactly. It's one thing to be caught inside of a building. It's another to be caught in a restricted construction zone. They dont play around.