From then on, Every time he adapted to a certain height, he would challenge himself to reach even higher. At first, his father built a five-meter-high wooden ladder for him to lean against a wall. Every day, he would adapt to a new height, even if it was just a tiny step forward.
Driven by this belief of "climbing one step higher," he successfully overcame his psychological barriers. Before long, he could ascend to the top of the ladder with ease. Later, his father took him to a factory with a forty-meter-tall chimney surrounded by an iron ladder. Eskil insisted on climbing one step higher every single day; moving from fear to familiarity, each step brought him a sense of joy and excitement. After six months, he reached the very top of the chimney, and his father celebrated by setting off 500 krone worth of fireworks.
By the age of 14, height no longer intimidated him. Instead, he saw it as an endless opportunity for self-challenge, bringing him immense happiness and satisfaction. During his final school excursion before graduation, he scaled a 100-meter cliff using only a rope and a hook. While onlookers were stunned, he felt it wasn't enough and vowed to challenge even greater heights in more difficult ways next time. Soon, he joined a circus to learn various acrobatics, gradually using new methods to reach new heights and deliver spectacular performances.
Over the years, Eskil has completed countless heart-pounding feats: in 2001, he walked across a wire suspended between two 300-meter cliffs; in 2003, he performed handstands on the edge of a 400-meter cliff; in 2006, he climbed a 600-meter cliff, set up a tilting ladder extending over the edge, and performed handstands at the top. Most recently, he stretched a wire between two 1000-meter cliffs in a Norwegian fjord and performed handstands while riding a bicycle. Most incredibly, he has never used any safety equipment during any of these self-challenges.
His many successes have made him a man who "paints in the air." When a journalist from UKTV asked about the meaning of these challenges, Eskil simply repeated the words he had told his father as a child: "Climb one step higher!"
