Unusual climbing antics from around the world — in pictures

From daredevils illegally scaling buildings to ibex in the Alps, a look at those clambering to extreme heights

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  YouTuber Adam Lockwood passes the 40th floor as he climbs the 310-metre The Shard building in central London barefoot on September 4, 2022. PA

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  Men climb a pole coated in grease as they take part in a competition in Medan, North Sumatra, during celebrations to mark Indonesia's independence day. EPA

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  Female members of a climbing team at the top of Huayna Potosi mountain, near El Alto, Bolivia. The group, called the Climbing Cholitas of Bolivia Warmis, campaigns for the rights of indigenous women through mountaineering. AFP

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  Barakat Ali climbs a tree at an Emirati date farm in Al Ain. Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  Susan Hill climbs a rock wall covered with ice during the Sandstone Ice Climbing festival at Robinson Ice Park in Sandstone, Minnesota. AFP

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  Alain Robert, second right, popularly known as the 'French Spiderman', climbs the 187-metre Total Coupole high-rise, near Paris, with Marcin Banot, Alexis Landot and Leo Urban as they protest against the Covid-19 health pass. AFP

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  An ibex stands on steep, rocky terrain near Fellaria glacial lake in Italy's Lombardy region. Getty

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  Hindu devotees try to board a crowded passenger train to take part in the 'Guru Purnima' festival in Goverdhan town, near the northern Indian city of Mathur. Reuters

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  India's National Defence Academy cadets climb the mast of a training ship before their departure from Cochin port, in the southern part of the country. Reuters

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  Goats climbing an Argan tree to reach its fruit, near Essaouira, Morocco. AFP

Around the world, climbing has been used for a variety of purposes, including collecting food, raising money for charity, celebrating national events and even making political statements.

YouTuber Adam Lockwood learnt the hard way that scaling buildings is an act of trespassing - it's usually safer to be a daredevil in a more controlled environment.

From (illegally) climbing Britain's tallest building to ice climbing festivals, check out the most unusual antics in our gallery above.

More from The National:

Man arrested after climbing to the top of The Shard in London

The Climbing Cholitas of Bolivia - in pictures

Omani police arrest three men for climbing flagpole