By Mark McConville
WATCH as one thrill seeker climbs the highest cable-stayed bridge in Europe and reaches the top at 344-feet without any safety equipment.
The breath-taking pictures and video show the fearless climber dart up the steel beams and cables before reaching an open staircase and ladder.
Other stunning shots show the triumphant adrenaline junkie posing at the top of the structure as he sits on a ledge high above the motorway and passing cars below.
The spectacular images and footage were taken at Zhivopisnyy Bridge in Moscow, Russia by local extreme photographer and blogger Alex Nomernoy (18).
“Once I saw it I started to think about climbing on the top of construction,” he said.
“My dream has turned into reality. There was ice on the river so my friend and I decided to move to the opposite side of the bridge.
“We passed alarms and security guards didn’t notice us, however, we were seen by some car drivers.
“They stared at us and someone was shooting us with a camera. We climbed on top and took many photos.”
Zhivopisnyy Bridge opened on 27 December 2007 and is unique in that most of it runs the length of the Moscow river rather than across it.
The main arch, which Alex climbed, does span across the river and carries the weight of the bridge through 78 cables.
Under the top of the arch there is a disk-like structure that was intended to house a restaurant. This project was abandoned due to lack of investment and fire safety concerns.
Alex, who shot the footage with a Canon 600D and GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition, thought he had been caught after spotting police from the top of the arch.
“Later we noticed a police car so we decided to go down,” he explained.
“Actually, this police car drove past us but then we were seen by other security guards that were standing on the opposite side of the bank. We ran away before they called the police.”
