Mission Insanity: Russian daredevils' reveal meticulous plan which helped them climb to the top of Europe's tallest building (where the temperature is always below freezing)
Scaling a 1,000ft building takes a lot of courage and skill. Add breaking and entering, mapping CCTV systems, hiding from Russian security guards and you have a mission bordering on insanity.
Mercury City Tower, an office and residential building in central Moscow, Russian, is set to be the tallest building in Europe - once it is finished.
Using a plan fit for Mission Impossible, a team of Russian daredevils braved violent guards, cameras and the freezing cold to climb 1,214ft to tip of a construction crane on top of the building.
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Mission accomplished: A team of adrenaline hunters illegally scaled Europe's tallest building - the the 1,110ft Mercury City Tower in Moscow - to climb atop a construction crane on its unfinished roof
Mercury City is in its final stages and the construction site is protected by a multi-level security system which includes cameras, motion detectors and guards, not to mention the 'real-life anthill' of construction workers who, according to climber Vitaliy Raskalov, will not only ring the alarm but also 'beat you up really badly'.
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'There is no legal way for regular guys to get upstairs', says roof climber Raskalov as he unveils the plan.
In their mission to conquer Mercury City, Raskalov and his four team members had been watching the site for weeks, resulting in a perfect plan to avoid detection.
The group mapped all the security camera system's blind spots as well as worked out the walking paths of the security guards.
On cloud nine: The group managed to get all the way to the tip of the crane seen at the top of the unfinished Mercury City Tower skyscraper
View from the top: The group on their way up the 75 story building
Worth the risk: Vitaliy Ruskalov tells the camera about their well-planned mission to scale Europe's tallest building
Following their plan, the crew sneak inside the building site dressed as construction workers and are forced to hide behind corners from patrolling security before climbing up 75 flights of stairs to get to the top floor.
But for Mr Raskalov and his friends that was never going to be enough. Determined to reach higher than anyone before them, they had their eyes set on the dangerously unstable construction crane on top of the building, adding another 104ft to their climb.
Deemed a mission too dangerous whilst the crane is in operation, the team have to wait until mid-day for the construction workers’ switchover to finish their illegal heist.
‘We have five minutes to do what we planned’, says Raskalov, adding that the mission is near impossible considering that there are five members of the team who all need to crawl to the end of the ice-covered crane before the next worker arrives.
Wuthering heights: The crane is so high up it is hidden among the clouds, making the climb even more difficult for the team
Looking down: A team member is near the top of the construction crane 1,214ft above ground
Cold conditions: Moscow in wintertime normally have temperatures below freezing, 75 floors up above the clouds, the temperature is ten degrees lower than on the ground
Time to go: Vitaliy Raskalov instructs a fellow team member on top of the crane as the begin their descent
After breakfast and sleep two members of the group decide not to take the risk and instead basejump off the building at the foot of the crane,
Three others, including Mr Raskalov, brave the freezing temperatures – and the impending arrival of security - to climb the crane.
Using handheld cameras they document their success on the frozen crane, which at 1,214ft is so far up the clouds block the view of the ground.
After leaving their mark - a few lightning-shaped stickers - they climb down and are seen doing high fives outside the construction building.
VIDEO See how they did it
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