American climber Alex Honnold successfully scaled a skyscraper in Taiwan without a rope, harness, or any safety equipment.
The building, Taipei 101, named after its number of floors, stands 508 meters (1,667 feet) tall. Constructed from steel, glass, and concrete, it is designed to resemble a stalk of bamboo.
Honnold is best known for being the first person to climb El Capitan in California’s Yosemite National Park without ropes or safety gear. The granite cliff stands 915 meters (3,000 feet) tall.
Originally scheduled for Saturday, the Taiwan climb was delayed due to wet weather. The ascent, which took place on Sunday, was streamed live on Netflix. The streaming platform noted there would be a delay on the live feed in case of any accidents.
“We’ll cut away,” Netflix executive Jeff Gaspin told Variety ahead of the event. “Nobody expects or wants to see anything like that happen.”
Honnold completed the climb in one hour and 31 minutes and celebrated the achievement with a single word: “Sick.” His time more than halved the record of the only other person to climb the tower.
French climber Alain Robert, known as “Spiderman,” reached the top of Taipei 101 when it was the world’s tallest building in four hours, but he used ropes and a harness.
Taiwan’s Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim congratulated Honnold on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “I admit I would probably feel sick, too, barely able to watch.”
At the top, Honnold was greeted by his wife, who had expressed concern about the wind and heat during the climb.
Another distraction occurred during the ascent: as Honnold reached the 89th floor, fans cheered and waved through the windows. Video shared by Honnold and Netflix on Instagram showed him remaining undeterred.
Honnold has completed many extreme climbs throughout his career. A documentary about his El Capitan ascent, Free Solo, won an Academy Award.
