TAIPEI, Taiwan – American rock climber Alex Honnold climbed the Taipei 101 skyscraper without any ropes or protective equipment on Sunday.
As he reached the summit of the 508-metre (1,667-foot) tower, about 90 minutes after starting, cheers erupted from the street-level crowd. Wearing a red short-sleeved shirt, she waved her arms back and forth above her head.
He later said, “It was like, what a view, it was incredible, what a beautiful day.” “It was very windy, so I thought, don’t fall off the summit. I was trying to balance well. But it was – what an incredible situation, what a beautiful way to see Taipei.”
Honnold, known for his ropeless climb up Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan, climbed a corner of Taipei 101 using the small L-shaped outcropping as a base. From time to time, he had to go around and climb over the sides of the large decorative structures projecting from the tower, and pull himself up with his bare hands.
The building has 101 floors, with the hardest part being the 64 floors of the middle section – the “bamboo boxes” that give the building its distinctive look. Divided into eight sections, each section stood eight stories tall, with overhanging climbs to the top followed by balconies, where they rested briefly on the way up.
Honnold’s free solo climb of the iconic building in Taiwan’s capital city was broadcast live on Netflix with a 10-second delay. The climb, originally scheduled for Saturday, was delayed 24 hours due to rain.
He said, “When I was leaving the field, you were saying, oh, it’s very intense, a lot of people are watching.” “But honestly, they’re all wishing me well. I mean basically it makes the whole experience almost more celebratory, all these good people supporting me and having a good time.”
The climb attracted both excitement and concern over the ethical implications of such a high-risk endeavor on a live broadcast.
Honnold is not the first climber to climb a skyscraper, but he is the first to do so without a rope. French rock climber Alain Robert climbed the building, which was then the tallest building in the world, on Christmas Day in 2004.
