What’s it like working 200 feet up in a tower crane?

In the pre-dawn darkness of a Norwegian winter, when temperatures can plunge to -15°C, Mina Farmen Bertheussen begins her hour-long commute to work. And once she’s there, she still has to climb 60 meters—nearly 200 feet—up to reach her office: the climate-controlled cabin of a tower crane overlooking the city.

This BBC Earth Explore video shares a Day in the Life of a Female Crane Operator.

At 29, Bertheussen has operated these massive machines for three years, a career choice that’s allowed her to see the city and some of nature’s most spectacular phenomena from a unique vantage point.

“I love heights and I love maybe, like, the unusual kinds of jobs. My favourite part about this job is probably the view. I never get tired of them. They’re always nice. There’s something called perlemorskyer, or I think in English it’s called like polar stratospheric clouds. The first time I saw it, I was actually in the crane and it was amazing. It was so beautiful.”

Forming in the extreme cold (below -78°C or -108°F) and aridity of our atmosphere’s stratosphere layer, polar stratospheric clouds reflect iridescent colors when water vapor freezes into hexagonal ice crystals. When sunlight hits these crystals, a diffraction effect paints the sky in shimmering, iridescent hues reminiscent of soap bubbles or oil on water.

“There’s actually a lot of responsibility on the crane operator and it’s a dangerous job… Not really for me. Up here, I feel very safe. But I have a lot of responsibility for the people on the ground.”

With two joysticks controlling the crane’s movements—one for lateral and extension control, the other for vertical positioning—along with a safety camera system and digital displays that monitor key measurements, Mina moves heavy materials across the construction site with precision.

And by sharing her experiences through social media, she’s inspired women to become crane operators in Norway.

Watch these handpicked videos next:
• Climbing Wind Turbines for a Living
• The Solitary Life of Cranes, a trailer
• A full circle rainbow as seen from a construction crane
• The view from the top of Sutro Tower
• Changing a light bulb at the top of a 1500-foot TV tower

Bonus: Beam Drop Inhotim, 2008, Brazil – Chris Burden.