My dedication to maintaining my long, round, natural nails means there’s a long list of things I can’t do. That list—which my fiancé can likely reel off by heart—includes opening packages, doing certain types of workouts (boxing, for one), closing my hand into a fist, and picking up any card or coin that falls on the floor. Not on that list, apparently? Scaling one of the tallest buildings in New York City.
Earlier today, free solo daredevils (and stars of the Netflix documentary Sky Walkers: A Love Story) Ivan Kuznetsov and Angelina Nikolau climbed the spire of the Empire State Building—where, as they stood 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan, Kuznetsov chose to make the moment even more memorable by popping the question. Nikolau said yes, going on to celebrate as many brides-to-be do: by snapping a ring photo.
@angela_nikolau
The image, shared to Instagram before Kuznetsov and Nikolau were promptly arrested, made me gasp. It wasn’t the view or the very pretty oval-shaped engagement ring that captured my attention, but Nikolau’s nails: they were pastel-chrome, adorned with a cross, and long, filed to an almond-shaped tip.
Sure, she’d only scaled the very top of the Empire State—not the entire 1,400-ish feet from the ground—but she’d still had to go, like, 120 feet. How?
Years ago, it took a single attempt at bouldering—an indoor rock-climbing experience done without a harness or other safety equipment—for me to realize that my manicure and the sport were incompatible. At minimum, I would break a nail (a tragedy for anybody whose tips are natural); at maximum, I’d fall because my nails would keep me from properly gripping the wall. Suffice it to say that ascending an enormous building did not occur to me as a possibility.
So I have to hand it to Nikolau. Somehow, her stunt was even wilder than it seemed from afar.
