British adventurer James Kingston has posted video of his night-time climb of the Eiffel Tower on YouTube. Originally, he and his compatriots had planned on taking an elevator to the second platform, like normal tourists/people who are vulnerable to gravity, but they forwent the lift to avoid the crowds.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdHD8ZCIC_M&w=560&h=315]

Starting at one in the morning, Kingston and Co. dodged security controls and closed-circuit cameras to reach the top of the tower, only to be greeted by the squawk of a walkie-talkie. The tower’s lights were switched on to search for the trespassers, who hid out until nearly dawn.

On returning to the terroir, they were arrested and taken in for questioning, chief among the questions was probably “What were you thinking?” The daredevils were released without charges after around six hours, with Kingston promising the authorities that he wouldn’t climb the Eiffel Tower again for three years.

Full disclosure: your faithful editor took an elevator to the second platform once, and that was plenty high for me.