The most terrifying new things to do in NYC: City Climb, Summit

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New Yorkers consider themselves tough, but are they bold enough to scale the exterior of a Midtown skyscraper and lean over an open edge 1,271 feet above ground?

That’s one of the stratospheric thrills of City Climb, a daredevil attraction at Hudson Yards that opens Tuesday. It’s one of three new, adrenaline-pumping Big Apple activities to open since October. But unlike more terrestrial pursuits, these experiences — also including the Ascent elevator and the Levitation pods at Summit One Vanderbilt — require strong will and an adventurous spirit, not to mention a love of heights.

So, I — a New Yorker who considers himself unflappable — decided to put myself to the test to see which offers the best adrenaline rush, and the greatest sense of accomplishment.

Read on for a glimpse of what you can expect. Just be thankful you don’t have to look down.

City Climb

Near the peak of the 1,296-foot-tall 30 Hudson Yards skyscraper in Midtown, I looked over my right shoulder and saw the hilly outline of Pennsylvania on the horizon. Away from the protection of windows and walls, I was secured by a harness, two cables and a number of triple-fastened carabiner clips attached to the tower’s exterior. I then slowly inched my right foot toward the edge of the open-air metal platform on which I stood — and gulped while staring 1,190 feet down to the plaza below.

Look ma, no hands! Among the many heart-pumping antics of City Climb is the opportunity to lean off the edge of 30 Hudson Yards’ summit. Courtesy of Max Loewenstein for City Climb at Edge

I was among the first daredevils to preview City Climb: Hudson Yards’ newest, and most extreme, attraction, which takes thrill-seekers on a wild $185 trek above the building’s 100-story-high Edge observatory for some top-of-the-world views. No barrier stands in the way of the incomparable panorama, which extends south to the Atlantic and northeast to Connecticut. It’s when you look down, and notice that nothing but your equipment separates you from the ground some 1,200 feet below, that your palms sweat — and stomach drops.

“You might see me soil my pants,” I said to the guy trekking directly behind me — one of three other other brave souls who took the roughly hourlong trip with me last Thursday. Two trained guides escorted us though the 370-step journey, which put our minds and bodies to the test.

I’ve never had a fear of heights, but that didn’t stop me from having nightmares the week leading up to my climb. (Everyone’s gear got quadruple-checked before heading outside — and it all attached to a sturdy trolley running along a metal track, which fastened us to the building.)

City Climb participants get crystal-clear views of the Atlantic Ocean, in addition to an adrenaline rush. Courtesy of Max Loewenstein for City Climb at Edge

“You may come in here as strangers, but you’ll come out as a unit,” one of our guides, 32-year-old Bronx resident Hussein “Urk” Guerrero, told us as we suited up. “You will bond.”

Guerrero’s enthusiasm helped break the ice. Standing on that 1,190-foot-tall perch, he excitedly pointed out landmarks such as the George Washington Bridge and the Hudson Valley.

I began to feel more at ease. That helped, because I then made my way to a 161-step staircase angled at a steep 45 degrees, whose view looked south — with Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey all in view. Looking down to street level didn’t make me feel dizzy, but happy. 

This staircase connects “The Cliff,” where the climb begins, to “The Apex” — the 1,271-foot-high roost where it ends. We stopped twice on the stairs to catch our breath and pose for photos. The pauses left us standing on an incline mere feet from an open edge. 

My crew and I, however, felt a rush — and it fueled the rest of our climb to the top. Only there can climbers lean forward and backward off the edge of the building, the most terrifying thrill of City Climb. It’s an optional move, which involves putting your feet slightly off the platform’s edge and thrusting your body away from the tower. It’s made slightly less scary by the fact that you’re looking down at the Edge observation deck 140 feet below — and not the street much farther down.

In it for the full experience, I was the first to lean out. With guides telling me to squat down, then extend my legs outwards, I stretched myself backward.

With heels over the edge and legs extended, Kussin hit his first lean off the side of the tower. Courtesy of Max Loewenstein for City Climb at Edge

I leaned out a total of five times to make the most of it. My second backward lean gave me a view of Central Park, where I saw the colors of autumn dot every treetop. I returned to the platform, did a 180-degree turn and prepped myself to lean forward in a motion, as Guerrero put it, similar to “Superman flying.” With another bend and extension, and releasing both hands from the cable, I faced the Empire State and Chrysler buildings — feeling like I soared over the city.

Not everyone wanted to follow suit, which Guerrero said was fine.

Climb guide Jason Johnson leans off the edge at the top of City Climb. AP
Maintenance technician Enzo Gentile helps escort a group of journalists to the top of the new City Climb attraction. AP

“The achievement after the experience is not doing a lean back or a lean forward — it’s standing atop the sixth tallest skyscraper in New York,” he said. “It’s a bird’s-eye view looking down on the greatest city in the world.”

But, as Guerrero told us earlier, we would become a unit from this climb — and at the top, we did. After doing more leans and motivating by example, we got two hesitant climbers to lean off — and cheered them on as they did.

“I had trepidations,” 39-year-old Bronx resident Jason Malloy told me once we had finished our course. “But the fear disappears. If you face your fear, you can be free.”

Ascent at Summit One Vanderbilt

“Don’t look down!” exclaimed a woman as the Ascent elevator — an all-glass enclosure that runs along the exterior of One Vanderbilt’s 1,401-foot tower — carried us to a 1,210-foot peak above 42nd Street. “That’s a little scary — not gonna lie!” cried another.

Ascent is the most thrilling feature at Summit One Vanderbilt, which opened last month. While not nearly as terrifying as City Climb, braving this attraction brings its own bragging rights.

At the zenith, riders pause to take in the views of a sun-kissed Verrazzano Bridge and the glittery ocean beyond it. While I didn’t suffer from any vertigo, others did.

“Looking down freaks me out!” the first woman gasped.

Ascent takes riders on an all-glass elevator to a 1,210-foot peak over the city. Stephen Yang

Still, Ascent has proven popular, requiring its own ticket — from $59, which also includes general admission to the overall Summit space — and lines that can last up to 40 minutes to board.

“We had wanted to see the view from up there, so it seemed cool,” said 31-year-old Florida resident Victoria Castellanos, who rode Ascent with a friend and said she felt zero fear at that height. “It was great,” she added.

Levitation at Summit One Vanderbilt

From the 92nd floor, Levitation offers views of Madison Avenue directly below. Stephen Yang

Luckily for the less daring, Summit offers another thrill that includes all the comforts of being inside.

The Levitation attraction — two 92nd-story glass sky boxes that protrude from the building’s facade — hang 1,063 feet above Madison Avenue, showing a clear view of it far below. This feature, which requires the purchase of a less-expensive general admission ticket (from $39 for adults), lured its own line of interested participants.

But after snapping a quick photo with a west-facing view of New Jersey in the background, visitors must leave the pods to keep the line moving. I was rushed through without having much time to absorb the surroundings and feel any shock from looking down.

Levitation can draw a line and rush visitors through, not giving enough of a chance to take in the perks of daring to enter this exhilarating perch. Stephen Yang

I guess after braving City Climb just a day earlier, everything else seems like child’s play in comparison.

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