‘This city is beautiful,’ says posting on YouTube video by daredevil who scales Winnipeg crane

At one point, the man in a YouTube video can be seen hanging from the crane, his legs swinging freely over the Winnipeg cityscape. (YouTube)

A new video of Winnipeg shows the city from a high vantage point, but in a way that’s not entirely legal.

In the YouTube video that’s not for the weak-kneed, a man scales buildings and walks along rooftops in the Exchange District before climbing a construction crane high above Portage Avenue.

The video, which claims to have been shot at 5:30 a.m., was posted Aug. 16.

Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said no formal complaint has been made about the incident, but “this behaviour/stunt is very concerning, not only for the safety of the individuals involved but the potentially dangerous position innocent bystanders are being put in.”

In addition to trespassing, the people involved in the video could face charges of break and enter and mischief.

Bockstael Construction, which is in charge of the crane and building project, would not comment.

Similar videos have surfaced in other cities and there were arrests earlier this year of six men in North Vancouver, B.C., who were caught climbing a crane.

Christopher Schneider, a Wilfrid Laurier University professor, has said social media may be fuelling the rise in so-called urban climbers, who like to post videos or selfies of their dangerous activities.

“One thing we’re really seeing here is that there are no media gatekeeper” to discourage the climbers’ behaviour, Schneider told CBC News in July.

“This is encouraging anyone who wants to participate in these kinds of activities to record themselves and put it on online.”