Buildering

Night climbing is a particular branch of buildering which has been practised for many years in a variety of locations, especially at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Night climbing, as distinct from buildering, is performed mainly by undergraduates under cover of darkness. The term "night climbing" has replaced the older term "roof climbing". The philosophy behind night climbing has undergone great change during the 21st century, with urban disciplines such as parkour having a heavy influence on the evolution of night climbing techniques and movements.

Practitioners of buildering who climb buildings without authorization are regularly confronted by police after completing their exploits. Spectacular acts, such as free soloing skyscrapers, are usually undertaken by lone, experienced climbers and sometimes draw large crowds of onlookers and media attention. Such feats, however, remain relatively rare.

Buildering can also take a form more akin to bouldering, which tends towards ascending or traversing shorter sections of buildings and structures. While still generally frowned upon by property owners, some, such as the University of Colorado at Boulder and Tufts University, turn a blind eye towards the practice in many locations.

Although often practised as a solo sport, buildering has also become a popular group activity. As in more traditional rock climbing, routes are established and graded for difficulty.

Buildering is a blend word formed from "building" and "bouldering".

History

In 1895, Geoffrey Winthrop Young started to climb the roofs of Cambridge University. Students had been scrambling up the university architecture for years, but Young was the first to document this activity. He wrote and published a buildering guide to Trinity College. Then in 1905, while a master at Eton College, Young produced another small volume on buildering, spoofing mountaineering.

In 1905, Harry H. Gardiner began buildering. He successfully climbed over 700 buildings in Europe and North America, usually wearing ordinary street clothes and using no special equipment.

In 1910, George Polley started his climbing career when the owner of a clothing store promised him a suit if he would climb to the roof of the building. He succeeded, and went on to climb over 2,000 buildings.

During the years from 1915 to 1920, buildering in New York City reached its peak. Before 1915, there were few skyscrapers in New York City, and after 1920, the city authorities had legislated to outlaw buildering. During this era, a number of daredevils climbed the tall buildings, but several of them fell to their deaths in the attempt.

In 1921, a group of undergraduates from St John's College, Cambridge, published a buildering guide to that college.

In 1930, John Hurst wrote the second edition of Geoffrey Winthrop Young's buildering guide to Trinity.

In 1937, a comprehensive and lighthearted account of Cambridge night climbing (undergraduate buildering) appeared in popular print, written by Noël Howard Symington, under the pseudonym "Whipplesnaith".

In 1947, John Ciampa scaled the exterior of the Astor Hotel in New York City.

In 1960, Richard Williams wrote the third edition of the Trinity buildering guide. Night climbing remained popular in Cambridge during these post-war years. In 1970, a book entitled "Night Climbing in Cambridge" was published under the pseudonym "Hederatus". Buildering also featured prominently in a book by F A Reeve, published in 1977.

In 1977, George Willig climbed the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

In the 1980s, Dan Goodwin scaled many of the world's tallest buildings, including the World Trade Center, the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Center, the CN Tower, and the Telephonica Building in Santiago, for Stan Lee's Superhumans

In the 1990s and the following decade, Alain Robert became the world's most famous builderer by free soloing high buildings all over the globe.

In 2007, buildering in Cambridge was featured in a detective novel by Jill Paton Walsh.

Between 2007 and 2011, several books on night climbing were published by Oleander Press, of Cambridge. In 2007, they reprinted the Whipplesnaith book. In 2009, they reprinted Geoffrey Winthrop Young's first edition of the Trinity Guide, and the St John's Guide. In 2010, they reprinted John Hurst's second edition of the Trinity Guide, as well as Young's book "Wall and Roof Climbing". In 2011, they published an omnibus edition of the three Trinity guides, including an introduction by Richard Williams which reviewed the history of night climbing in Cambridge from the 18th century to the present day. This introduction removed the cloak of anonymity that had previously protected the identities of the first nocturnal explorers.

From around 2008, buildering (also known as "roofing") became popular among teenagers and young adults in eastern European countries including Russia and Ukraine. They (e.g., Mustang Wanted) shared footage of their achievements on video portals such as YouTube.

In 2013, the History Press published a book by John Engle on the history of student pranks at Trinity College Dublin, which featured a full chapter on the university's long-standing night climbing tradition, including the buildering activities of the Dublin University Climbing Club.

In August 2016, a young man going by the name Stephen Rogata attempted to scale New York City's 68-story Trump Tower using climbing gear and giant suction cups; NYPD officers apprehended him at the 21st floor.

In April 2025, Jordan Schultz, a building climber and UC Berkeley graduate, published Campusing: A Secret History and Buildering Guide to UC Berkeley. The book presents possibly the most comprehensive history of buildering, as well as a current guidebook to buildering on UC Berkeley campus.

In January 2026, Alex Honnold free solo climbed the Taipei 101 tower in Taipei, the tallest buildering free solo climb in history.