KUALA LUMPUR – Endless hours of research, weeks of surveillance, and a climb that took five times longer than initially anticipated – the scaling of Merdeka 118 was physically and emotionally draining for seasoned rooftopper Angela Nikolau.
Now having conquered the peak of the second tallest structure in the world – while capturing the attention of authorities – the Russian woman spoke with The Vibes to share her experience climbing the tower with her partner Ivan Beerkus.
“I would definitely say it’s the hardest elevation so far and also one of the hardest things I have done in my life,” the 29-year-old extreme climber said, succinctly describing her most recent adventure.
It was challenging, both physically and emotionally, and we had to do extreme things to make it happen.”
Nikolau became the first woman to scale Merdeka 118 when she successfully reached the top of the 679m-tall tower last week together with Beerkus.
A photo of the daredevil couple was uploaded on online forum SkyscraperCity.com on December 27, before the duo confirmed their stunt two days later through Instagram posts featuring footage of them on the peak of the tower’s spire.
The videos, however, did not do enough justice to the struggle they had to endure to achieve the feat.
According to Nikolau, it took them extremely long hours of research and a grand total of three weeks surveilling Merdeka 118 to “create a general understanding of things” and determine how they would be able to work things out.
“Fun fact, we were still wrong about plenty of things when we were in the process of climbing,” she recollected.
“We planned the elevation to take seven to eight hours, but instead, it took us 36 hours! And we ran out of water in the first five hours, so it was pretty extreme.”
Despite anticipating a tough climb, Nikolau said she decided to do it to fulfil her long-time dream of scaling the iconic tower.
“I have been looking at the building for a while and I loved it. I have dreamed of being on top of it someday and to see the amazing views from there. So you can say it was my dream.”
Tight security forced delay
Nikolau also had nothing but good words to offer to the security team manning Merdeka 118, saying the tight surveillance was partially to be blamed for their longer-than-expected climb.
“It was extremely hard to get past security and I think at some point we were detected and we had to hide. That was why it took us so long.
“We had to wait for a long time for everything to settle down before resuming, and were forced to use all the skills we have acquired over the decade to be able to manoeuvre the building.
“So, we can say the security was doing a great job,” she said.
In a Twitter thread posted late last night, Nikolau detailed her close shave with security personnel, how she made it past them, and the backstory to conquering the tower.
⚡️The time has come and I'd love to share the giga story how I climbed the incredible Merdeka 118⚡️
— Angela Nikolau (@AngelaNikolau_) January 4, 2023
Couldn't help adding @steveaoki music here as it was playing in my head when I was standing on top of the world.
Feel the dizziness of being there with me
Back to the story? pic.twitter.com/PYtwbzLX9T
Among other things, she revealed that she had rented an apartment with a good view of the tower to allow her to conduct surveillance, and that she had worn a hijab and construction uniform as a disguise when starting the ascent.
She said midway through the climb, she was detected by security, forcing her to hide for about 20 hours inside a small concrete box, where she ran out of food and water.
Nikolau said she then took a small window of opportunity when the security personnel were on a break to resume and complete her mission, adding that the view from atop Merdeka 118 was well worth what she had to go through.
In her interview with The Vibes, Nikolau said she became interested in rooftopping when she was just a teenager, taking part in her first scaling at the age of 16.
She said her tendency for pushing the boundaries set by society has also continued to motivate her to do it, adding that she loves “the serenity and quietness of the world” when on top of a building.
“When I started climbing, I was in high school. I then studied to be a professional painter. Later, I combined painting and rooftopping,” she said, while noting that she had also previously held an exhibition in Moscow, Russia.
As for climbing, the Russian daredevil considers it to be her full-time job now, pointing out that it requires as much organisation, time, and effort as any other form of employment.
Nikolau and Beerkus are currently under police investigation for trespassing on private property.
Merdeka 118, which is still a live construction site due for full completion in the middle of this year, is owned by Permodalan Nasional Bhd’s (PNB) wholly owned subsidiary PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd.
Only the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, at 830m, stands taller than the RM5 billion tower located adjacent to Merdeka Stadium, the historic site where Malaysia declared independence from the British on August 31, 1957. – The Vibes, January 5, 2023
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