World-renowned free solo climber Alex Honnold has successfully summited Taiwan’s Taipei 101, accomplishing his lifelong dream and setting a record for the tallest urban free solo climb in the world. The athlete stood atop the building’s sphere triumphantly, peering over the edge, waving to fans and even taking a selfie on a structure that appeared barely big enough to hold a single person.
To climb down, he put on a neon green harness and smoothly descended off the spire before moving to the elevator. He shared an embrace with his understandably relieved spouse, Sanni McCandless, and the couple gave a shoutout to their two young children.
Netflix‘s Skyscraper Live event, originally planned to air in real time yesterday, was pushed to this evening Pacific Time due to poor weather conditions. Hosted by former SportsCenter anchor Elle Duncan as part of her multi-year deal with the streamer, the telecast was also shepherded by WWE Superstar Seth Rollins; friend, leading mountaineer and fellow climber Emily Harrington; as well as NASA alum and CrunchLabs star Mark Rober, who was present to monitor the situation in relation to any potential climate shifts and seismic activity.
As Honnold prepared for the objective, he was seen stretching and chatting with McCandless. Nearby, thousands of people gathered (outside the 3-acre exclusion zone) to witness the feat in person, cheering him on as he began climbing. At one point early on in the climb, he turned to chalk his hands and waved to the crowd.
Honnold’s climb featured three stages: the Slabs, the 372-foot base of the building, known as the easiest aspect and warmup of the ascent; the Bamboo Boxes, featuring eight balconies and 900 feet of a vertical climb; and the Tower itself, which comprises rings, spires and overhangs and culminates in a small sphere atop the entire structure.
Skyscraper Live. Alex Honnold climbing in Taipei, Taiwan. Courtesy of Netflix
Throughout his climb, Honnold also faced obstacles on his path in the form of irregularly shaped protrusions on the side of the building, including two cloud-shaped Chinese talisman known as ruyi and ten dragon-shaped formations. However, the climber maintained his cool, calm and collected demeanor as he ascended, cracking jokes as he communicated via his microphone and waving to people within the building who were holding signs or stopped to film him. While the weather appeared sunny and pleasant, there was notable wind, though Honnold noted previously that wouldn’t pose a problem.
For the most part, Netflix avoided any large crashes, though there were minor delays and, at one point, an interference with the live feed and loud static. A climb counter and tracker indicated Honnold’s timing and where he was at any given point in relation to the building’s height. Filmed by surrounding drones and a cameraman on rig filming him, the event was also interspersed with pre-taped content (an interview with McCandless and Honnold) and segments explaining the technical aspects of the climb. A 10-second delay was built into the broadcast in case of a worst-case scenario.
Buildings in Taiwan, including the steel-and-glass Taipei 101, flashed “Go Alex!” chants in the evenings leading up to the event, with local residents making offerings for protection and safe passage. Prior to the broadcast, Netflix flashed the obligatory warning to viewers — about not attempting to recreate the actions of a professional and noting that doing so on urban buildings is illegal.
At various points, Honnold indicated his headset died, with his ability to communicate with Duncan sometimes going in and out. After surpassing the Bamboo Boxes, he told her and the commentators that he was trying to “pace myself” by going “slow and steady.” He said he was facing the “brunt of the wind” by climbing at the corner of the building.
“You know what? I’m kind of tired,” he said early on while climbing the Tower section, before “campusing” — a method of climbing using only arms and hands.
Skyscraper Live. Alex Honnold climbing in Taipei, Taiwan. Courtesy of Netflix
Later, while climbing the Tower’s rings, he took a rest by hooking his right leg between the structures, effectively dangling off the side of the building while chalking his hands. After surpassing the rings, he began his ascent atop the spire using a free-swinging ladder.
In a previous interview with CNN, Honnold said of the Skyscraper Live event: “In the past, when this was almost a TV show and now with the Netflix program, everyone’s like, ‘Cool, this is gonna be great for TV.’ And then they’re like, ‘But how do we make it safe?’ And you’re like, ‘Well, the whole point is that it’s fundamentally not safe.’ I feel that it is very safe, and it’s made safe through preparation and through training and through rehearsal. Basically you just can’t make it safe in a way that, like, a network executive wants you to.”
Honnold, who has been a pro solo climber for 30 years and has also made headlines for his remarkably unresponsive amygdala (though he has been vocal about experiencing fear), first rose to fame as the inaugural free solo climber to scale El Capitan’s full route. That feat was the subject of 2018’s Oscar and Emmy-winning Free Solo documentary.
