TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Renowned rock climber Alex Honnold just pulled off the biggest urban free solo ever, scaling Taiwan’s iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper without ropes or safety equipment while millions watched live on Netflix.
The American daredevil reached the top of the 1,667-foot tower in one hour and 31 minutes, becoming the first person to ever free solo the building that was once the world’s tallest.
“It’s windy… I’m so psyched,” Honnold said after pulling himself onto the roof. “And you know what, pretty tired actually.”
The climb had originally been scheduled for January 23 but was postponed due to bad weather. Honnold acknowledged that “climbing is always at the mercy of nature” and waited for conditions to improve before making his historic attempt on January 25.
Taipei 101, designed by C.Y. Lee and Partners and opened in 2004, presented unique challenges compared to natural rock faces. The building houses observatories, restaurants, shopping centers, offices, and the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Honnold’s feat surpasses the previous notable ascent of the building by French climber Alain Robert, who scaled it with ropes in 2004. That climb took more than four hours.
The 39-year-old Honnold became a household name after his 2017 free solo of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, a 3,000-foot granite wall he climbed in 3 hours and 56 minutes. That achievement was chronicled in the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo.”
Honnold is married to Sanni McCandless Honnold, and the couple has two daughters together. Despite the terrifying nature of his work, he continues to push the boundaries of what’s considered possible in climbing.
