American rock climber Alex Honnold free-climbs Taipei 101
Honnold is known for his legendary ropeless climb up Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan, documented in Free Solo.
US rock climber Alex Honnold raises his arms while standing at the top of the Taipei 101 building after he successfully free soloed the landmark skyscraper without ropes or safety gear on Jan 25, 2026. (Photo: AFP/I-Hwa Cheng)
TAIPEI: An American climber took on Taiwan's tallest building on Sunday (Jan 25), without ropes or safety gear, in a daring feat that drew hundreds of spectators to the tower's base and many more online through a live Netflix broadcast.
Alex Honnold, 40, has conquered some of the world's most intimidating rock faces and rose to global fame in 2017 after he climbed Yosemite's "El Capitan", a feat documented in Free Solo.
On Sunday, he climbed Taipei 101, which towers at 508m.
Cheers erupted from a street-level crowd as he reached the top of the spire about 90 minutes after he started. Wearing a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, he waved his arms back and forth over his head.
“It was like what a view, it’s incredible, what a beautiful day,” he said afterward. “It was very windy, so I was like, don’t fall off the spire. I was trying to balance nicely. But it was, what an incredible position, what a beautiful way to see Taipei.”
"BAMBOO BOXES"
The weather was clear as he began by scaling the building's southeast face, utilising small L-shaped outcroppings as footholds.
The building has 101 floors, with the hardest part being the 64 floors of the middle section - the "bamboo boxes" that give the building its signature look.
Divided into eight, each segment has eight floors of steep, overhanging climbing followed by balconies, where he took short rests as he made his way upward.
Periodically, he had to manoeuvre around and clamber up the sides of large ornamental structures that jut out from the tower, pulling himself up with his bare hands.
At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos of the dramatic ascent.
People watching from inside the building could be seen gawking and tapping at the glass as Honnold scrambled past the enclosed glass observation deck on the 89th floor.
"LIFELONG DREAM"
Honnold's free solo climb was broadcast live on Netflix with a 10-second delay, titled Skyscraper Live. The ascent, originally scheduled for Saturday, was delayed for 24 hours due to rain.
The climb drew both excitement and concern over the ethical implications of attempting such a high-risk endeavour on live broadcast.
Many have also questioned Honnold’s desire to continue his free-solo climbs now that he’s a married father of two young girls.
"It's been a lifelong dream of mine to climb a skyscraper," Honnold said in a promotional video for the climb on Netflix's Facebook page on Tuesday.
"So I am going to be free-soloing Taipei 101 ... No ropes, no gear, just me and the building."
Honnold declared it would mark the "biggest urban free-solo climb" to ever be attempted.
The climb took place with the full support and permission of Taipei 101 and the city government.
Honnold said he had once thought of climbing the structure without permission.
"But then out of respect for the building and respect for all the people on the team who'd allowed me access to look at it, I was like, well obviously I'm not going to poach this, I'm going to respect the people and just see if it ever comes together."
Executive Producer James Smith said it was rare for a building to trust a climber and allow such an event to take place, calling Taipei 101 "a real icon of this country".
Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010, a crown currently held by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Richard Bode, 34, said watching the event was a "once-in-a-lifetime experience".
Another onlooker, Benson, 24, called the climb "incredibly brave", while others, like Lin Chia-jou, 54, told AFP that she found it "terrifying" but admired Honnold for the hard work he'd put into achieving his dream.
Taipei 101 chairwoman Janet Chia said on Saturday on Threads that it was touching to hear that fans had travelled from Singapore, Hong Kong and southern Taiwan to watch the climb and apologised for the delay in the event.
"But this epic event is definitely worth the wait," Chia added.
Taiwanese politicians also took to social media to thank Honnold and Netflix for putting Taiwan - more accustomed to featuring in global headlines for its semiconductor prowess or Chinese military threats - in the international spotlight with such a different perspective.
"Congratulations to the brave, fearless Alex for completing the challenge," President Lai Ching-te wrote on his Facebook page.
"Through Netflix's live broadcast cameras, the world didn't just see Taipei 101 - it also saw the warmth and passion of the Taiwanese people, and the beautiful hills and scenery of this land," he added.
A RECORD
Having a cheering crowd was unusual and a bit unnerving at first for Honnold, whose climbs are usually in remote areas.
“When I was leaving the ground, you're like oh it’s kind of intense, there’s so many people watching,” he said. “But then honestly, they’re all wishing me well. I mean basically it just makes the whole experience feel almost more festive, all these nice people are out supporting me and having a good time.”
Honnold is the first person to free solo climb Taipei 101, without a rope, harness, or safety net, but not the first to scale the large building.
Rock climber Alain Robert, dubbed the French Spiderman, scaled the building on Christmas Day in 2004 as part of the grand opening of what was then the world’s tallest building.
He took nearly four hours to finish, almost twice as long as he anticipated, all while nursing an injured elbow and battered by wind and rain.
