The keys
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Generated with AI
Look out the window of a skyscraper and see a man climbing without any protection. That is the image that several Taiwanese citizens encountered when approaching the enormous windows of the Taipei 101the tallest building in the city.
The American climber Alex Honnold (40 years) climbed the 508 meters of building. Without ropes. No harnesses. Without protections. Without anything. Only with his hands and a brutal dose of bravery.
Honnold starred in a documentary Oscar winner in 2019, called Free Solo. The climber ascended Mount Yosemite National Park, in California.
Climb to the skyscraper
Crowds of people gathered at the foot of the skyscraper. Honnold climbed the metal beams. It was broadcast live on Netflix. Blue shorts and red t-shirt. Zero restraints, now up.
However, Honnold had to delay his plans. He had planned to achieve his feat last Friday, but the rain ruined his climb.
Climber Alex Honnold takes a break from his ascent of the Taiwanese skyscraper Taipei 101.
“It was an incredible sight, what a beautiful day,” Honnold commented after climbing the building. “It was very windy, so I thought: ‘Don’t fall off the needle’. I was trying to keep my balance. “But it was an incredible position, a beautiful way to see Taipei,” he added.
The climber said he hoped people felt inspired on his own path after seeing his achievement, according to what he publishes The Guardian.
“I think people often find the inspiration they need to pursue their own challenges or goals. Often It is the drive they need to achieve what they want in life.. They often see something like this and it reminds them that their time is finite and that they should make the most of it, in the most meaningful way possible. I hope that, in any case, that is what people take away,” added the athlete.
A hundred plants
The Taipei 101 building has, as its name indicates, 101 plants. The most complex section of the climb are the 64 plants that make up the central section, the so-called “bamboo boxes”, due to their peculiar appearance.
“When you leave the place, you think: ‘How intense, there are so many people looking at me,'” he said. “But honestly, everyone wishes me the best. In short, it makes the experience almost more festive; “All these kind people support me and have a good time,” added the athlete.
Several people watch from a distance as Alex Honnold ascends the Taiwanese skyscraper Taipei 101.
Honnold is not the first climber to climb said skyscraper, but yes the first to do it without any type of protection. French climber Alain Robert scaled the building on Christmas Day 2004, during the grand opening of what was then the tallest building in the world.
Robert, who covered the event for the network CNNcongratulated Honnold when he achieved his feat, saying that he understood what he must be feeling. “For me, it was incredible; although I wasn’t risking my life because I had a rope, the weather conditions were terrible and it took four hours.” “I know Alex, I always had confidence…I didn’t worry at all.” he concluded.
Months of training
Honnold passed the last three months of his life training without rest to climb Taipei 101. He trained hours and hours in the gym to increase his muscle mass, he did specific climbing training and he also trained his mind to manage fear and anguish. Climbing the Taipei 101 is a goal that I had between my eyebrows for a decade.
“You go up to the base, you go up to the building and you go up to the top,” Honnold said in his podcastClimbing Gold. “No ropes. No equipment. No margin for error”. he added.
The feat was achieved at 9:00 a.m. in Taiwan, which is two in the morning in Spain.
In the USA there is a long tradition of broadcasting feats of this caliber live. To the limit. These include Evel Knievel’s motorcycle jumps in the 1970s and Red Bull’s record attempts today.