American rock climber and Free Solo star Alex Honnold successfully scaled one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, Taipei 101, without any safety net or ropes. In doing so, he set a new record for the tallest urban free solo in history.
Honnold completed the ascent of the 101-floor tower in just 1 hour and 31 minutes as part of a live event that aired on Netflix. The climb took place on Saturday, January 24th, after originally being scheduled for January 23rd but postponed due to bad weather.
Ahead of the climb, Honnold told Netflix’s Tudum that viewers would “probably be on edge watching this,” but hoped they would “get a little bit of my joy from the experience — that they can appreciate the fun of it and the beauty of it, the scenery, just the whole experience.”
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In a post-climb interview with Variety, Honnold said he was never concerned about finishing the climb, though the wind and fatigue did become factors as he reached the top of the building. “I definitely noticed the wind. And then, yeah, I was getting tired a little by the top. I wasn’t concerned that, ‘Oh, I’m so tired. I’m gonna fall off,’” he said. “But I was like, ‘OK, I’m feeling it!’”
Honnold also shared that he listened to Tool while scaling the building. “It’s a random playlist that I made, that I shared with production. I made it months ago while I was driving. I’ve been training to it a bunch. Basically, rock music that I’ve liked my whole life. Part of the appeal of music is that actually it helps me with pacing. Each bamboo box had been taking me about five to six and a half minutes. I just know how long the songs are. So it gives you a sense of if you’re going fast or slow.”
The event is currently available to replay on demand via Netflix.
Honnold’s biggest previous stunt was his 2017 ropeless ascent of the 3,000-foot sheer granite wall of El Capitan. His 2018 documentary film, Free Solo, won both a BAFTA and an Academy Award.