This American Climber Has Climbed Taipei 101, One of The World’s Tallest Buildings, Without Any Safety Gear

American rock climber Alex Honnold has successfully scaled Taiwan’s tallest skyscraper, the Taipei 101without any ropes or safety gear, becoming the first person in the world to do so.

The 40-year-old is known for his free solo climbing, meaning without ropes or any safety equipment.

He rose to international fame through the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo,” featuring him scaling the 3,000-foot Freerider route on Yosemite National Park's El Capitan in California in 2017, becoming the first person to ever climb El Capitan free solo.

Honnold first visited Taiwan in 2012 to study Taipei 101’s exterior, unsure at the time whether such an ascent would ever be possible.

Taipei 101, which held the title of the world’s tallest building from 2004 until 2010, stands 508 meters tall and is constructed from steel, glass and concrete, with a design inspired by a stalk of bamboo, presenting a vastly different challenge from natural rock faces.

On Sunday, Jan. 25, Honnold successfully reached the top of Taipei 101 as thousands of people worldwide watched him live on a Netflix special “Skyscraper Live”.

Honnold's dangerous climb was forced to be postponed for one-day from the original plan due to weather conditions.

Thousands of onlookers gathered in Taipei’s Xinyi District on Sunday, cheering as Honnold reached each new section of the building before completing the climb in just one hour and 31 minutes. In 2004, French climber Alain Robert, known as the “French Spider-Man,” scaled the skyscraper using climbing gear during rainy conditions, completing the ascent in around four hours.

Taiwanese politicians and the chairperson of Taipei 101 thanked Honnold and the Netflix crew for their “preparation and trust,” saying the climb offered a rare global spotlight on Taiwan beyond its usual headlines about semiconductors or tensions with China.

“Congratulations to the brave, fearless Alex for completing the challenge,” Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te wrote on his Facebook.

After reaching the top of the building, Honnold told local media the view from Taipei 101 was “a beautiful way to see Taipei.”

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