World-renowned free climber Alex Honnold, 40, began his ascent of Taipei 101 shortly after 9 a.m. local time Sunday, gripping the tower’s spandrel bands as he inched his way up the structure’s southwestern corner while hundreds of onlookers cheered below.
Sunshine replaced the rain that forced him to postpone the event the day before, offering optimum conditions for the historic climb. Although it the first time someone has scaled the structure, which rises 1,667 feet over the Taiwanese capital—without a rope. No comparable free-solo ascent has ever been attempted on a building of this height.
“Going to Be Fun”
Asked by podcaster Jay Shetty why he wanted to climb the world’s 11th tallest buildings, Honnold responded: “Because it’s awesome,” Honnold replied, grinning. “Because I get to basically. It’s going to be so fun. It’s really hard to get permission to climb a building. And if you get permission, you kind of have to say yes.”
“A few years ago I scouted it and realized I could do it,” he added. “I was like, ‘This is amazing.’ But I never got the opportunity— and now I do.”
It’s also far from the first time Honnold has broken new ground. Over a career spanning more than two decades, he has repeatedly redefined what is considered possible in the sport of climbing.
In 2008, he became the first person to free solo the unforgiving Regular Northwest Face of Yosemite National Park’s Half Dome. That same year, he completed a free-solo ascent of Moonlight Buttress at Zion National Park, an endurance-testing sandstone crack climb widely regarded as one of the most demanding routes of its kind.
Nearly a decade later, the California native made the first — and still only—free-solo ascent of Yosemite’s El Capitan. The climb, considered one of the greatest athletic achievements in modern history, was documented in the Oscar-winning film Free Solo, produced and distributed by National Geographic, and later released on streaming platforms, cementing Honnold’s status as a household name.
A Global Audience
This time, Honnold is attempting to make history in front of a global audience via a special Netflix broadcast, Skyscraper Live.
Not only the crowds gathered at the base of the tower in the heart of Taipei’s bustling Xinyi shopping district, but also tens of thousands of viewers watching via live stream.
The broadcast features a lineup of familiar faces and technical experts, including longtime fellow climber Pete Woods and former NASA engineer Mark Rober. Veteran sports broadcaster Elle Duncan, formerly of ESPN, is serving as host.
Read the full article here
