Out on a limb

Yes, I was one of the 8 million...

Vitaliy on the crane boom

Vadim Makhorov and Vitaliy Raskalov have gained a lot of notoriety with their video this week (posted yesterday on Twisted Sifter).
The video, released on Wednesday February 12, 2014, has already been viewed over 8 million times, in just 2 days. 

The ethereal glow on the low cloud

Vitaliy on the 100th floor

The Two Towers - JinMao Tower (421m) & Shanghai Financial Centre (490m)

The GoPro video shows the duo (who together are OnTheRoofs), climbing the still under-construction Shanghai Tower. Upon its completion in 2014, it will stand approximately 632 metres (2,073 ft) high and will have 121 storeys. Following its topping out on 3 August 2013, it became the tallest building in China and the second-tallest in the world, surpassed only by the Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates.

Vitaliy's feet adding a sense of perceptive

Vadim photographing 'The Bottle Opener' the Shanghai Financial Centre

Looking down the core of the Shanghai Tower

Raskalov says the pair had planned to start their ascent on January 31st, which not coincidentally was the first day of China’s Lunar New Year, a major holiday in China, while the workers were celebrating at home, and the security was less watchful. 

It took them about two hours to get to the 120th floor by foot. At midnight they arrived above the clouds at the roof-top crane. They spent an additional 18 hours on top of the building sleeping and waiting for the cloud to clear. 

From the crane jib

Cloud beginning to wrap round the towers

Vadim on the tip of the crane

While the video documents their ascent, both are keen photographers and took the time to capture some amazing shots of the bustling metropolis below. 

To see the rest, visit their blogs Vadim's and Vitaliy's (the text is in Russian & English).

Needless to say what they did was illegal and dangerous. Even though they said there was little wind, you could still hear it whistling across the camera mic.

Personally I am content to just enjoy the photographs & video - maybe not with my heart in my mouth, but it might be scaling up my throat!