Lee Thompson/Instagram

Lee Thompson went to Rio de Janeiro to take photos of the World Cup preparations. He left with a selfie atop the Christ the Redeemer statue, nearly 98 feet above the ground.

Thompson wrote about the adventure at his company's website, The Flash Pack. Everything was done by the book, as his colleague, Oliver Harvey, secured clearance for the journey to the top of the statue through Brazil's tourist board. The trip wasn't for the faint of heart: The pair (along with two workmen) "crawled in circles up 12 flights of rickety stairs that seemed to get narrower with every step," Thompson wrote. It took about 20 minutes to get to the heart of the statue, and they finally made it to the shoulder "after what felt like an eternity of pressing heat and pitch darkness."

Once he popped his head out of the statue's crown, Thompson knew he had to capture the moment. While some may think taking a selfie is vain, Thompson believes otherwise: "It's a way to mark the moment and say, 'I was here,'" he wrote. Watch the stomach-churning video of Thompson's journey below. --Catherine Garcia