Free solo climber Alex Honnold conquers one of the world’s tallest buildings

By Jessie Yeung, Wayne Chang and John Mees, CNN

Taipei, Taiwan (CNN) — For 92 minutes on a clear Sunday morning in Taipei, thousands of spectators with jittery nerves stared upwards, while people across the world were glued to their screens, as famed climber Alex Honnold made a death-defying attempt to scale one of the tallest skyscrapers on Earth.

He clambered up the last inch of the metal spire atop Taipei 101 at 10:43 am local time and stood on the 1,667-foot (508-meters) summit with a grin, waving to the cheering fans below – a sight that will undoubtedly become an iconic moment in climbing folklore.

He’s the first known climber to free solo Taipei 101, meaning an ascent without ropes, safety nets, or other equipment – just his bare hands and a chalk bag to help with grip.

“It’s amazing, I’m sure I’ll be glowing for days, it’s incredible,” Honnold said in a news conference after finishing the climb. “You spend so long thinking about it and imagining it’s possible, but then to actually do it always feels different.”

Honnold, 40, has been a recognized figure in the climbing community for nearly two decades – rising to prominence in his early 20s for successful free solo climbs of challenging routes.

But he became a household name worldwide after becoming the first person to free climb El Capitan, a vertical rock formation at Yosemite National Park, in 2017 – a nail-biting ascent that was captured in the award-winning documentary “Free Solo.”

Since then, he has continued climbing and setting new records. Despite having had his eyes on Taipei 101 for more than a decade, the opportunity never materialized until it was pitched to Netflix, which live-streamed his ascent. Honnold called it “the biggest urban free solo climb ever.”

The climb was meant to happen Saturday morning local time, but was rescheduled due to poor weather. Sunday dawned sunny and clear with blue skies and little wind, allowing the climb to go ahead.

“For me, personally, the biggest challenge was staying calm. Having the crowd, having the whole experience, having all the people around just made it feel a little more intense,” he added. “But as I climbed, I relaxed more and more, like, ‘Oh, this is so fun, this is why I do it.’”

He’s not the first person to climb Taipei 101: French climber Alain Robert summited the building in 2004, but with ropes. Robert had been invited to climb it as part of the building’s official public opening, but conditions were far worse that day, with rain and heavy winds – making his climb four hours long, compared to Honnold’s one and a half hours.

Both Robert and Honnold described the ascent as not overly challenging or complicated compared to the usual rock formations and mountains they climb. For instance, Honnold wasn’t holding onto the sheer slippery glass of the skyscraper – he had metal structures, ledges and beams to hold onto.

There were several more technically difficult moves toward the top. But Honnold cleared those without much difficulty, moving up the building at a rapid pace. At points, he stopped on balconies to take a break and wave at the crowd below.

His nervous wife Sanni McCandless was watching from inside Taipei 101, waving to her husband on the other side of the glass as he passed her floor on his way up. After he summitted, she met him at a balcony below the spire, embracing him and joking: “I was basically having a panic attack the entire time.”

When it opened in 2004, Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world – a title it held until it was usurped by Dubai’s 2717-foot (828-meter) Burj Kalifa. Ten other buildings taller than Taipei 101 have since been built, including New York’s One World Trade Center, but it remains a spectacle in Taipei as it is the tallest building in the city.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te was quick to congratulate Honnold on his “truly nerve-wracking” spectacle. He hoped the event would allow the world to see “the warmth of the Taiwanese people and the island’s beautiful hills and landscapes,” he said.

After the climb, Honnold said he hoped people watching could be inspired by his climb to pursue their own challenges or goals. And, in his signature matter-of-fact way, he summed up his achievement with few words:

“It’s so great. What a nice day.”

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