Taipei, Taiwan
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For 92 minutes on a transparent Sunday morning in Taipei, 1000’s of spectators with jittery nerves stared upwards, whereas individuals throughout the world had been 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 final inch of the steel spire atop Taipei 101 at 10:43 am native time and stood on the 1,667-foot (508-meters) summit with a smile, waving to the cheering followers under – a sight that may undoubtedly turn into an iconic second in climbing folklore.
He’s the first identified climber to free solo Taipei 101, which means an ascent with out ropes, security nets, or different gear – simply his naked palms and a chalk bag to assist with grip.
“It’s amazing, I’m sure I’ll be glowing for days, it’s incredible,” Honnold mentioned in a information convention after ending 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 acknowledged determine in the climbing group for practically 20 years – rising to prominence in his early 20s for profitable free solo climbs of difficult routes.
But he turned a family identify worldwide after turning into the first individual 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 greater than a decade, the alternative by no means materialized till it was pitched to Netflix, which live-streamed his ascent. Honnold known as it “the biggest urban free solo climb ever.”
The climb was meant to occur Saturday morning native time, however was rescheduled on account of poor climate. Sunday dawned sunny and clear with blue skies and little wind, permitting the climb to go forward.
“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 individual to climb Taipei 101: French climber Alain Robert summited the constructing in 2004, however with ropes. Robert had been invited to climb it as half of the constructing’s official public opening, however circumstances had been far worse that day, with rain and heavy winds – making his climb 4 hours lengthy, in comparison with Honnold’s one and a half hours.
Alex Honnold feels actually chill about climbing this skyscraper
Both Robert and Honnold described the ascent as not overly difficult or sophisticated in comparison with the typical rock formations and mountains they climb. For occasion, Honnold wasn’t holding onto the sheer slippery glass of the skyscraper – he had steel buildings, ledges and beams to carry onto.
There had been a number of extra technically tough strikes towards the prime. But Honnold cleared these with out a lot problem, shifting up the constructing at a fast tempo. At factors, he stopped on balconies to take a break and wave at the crowd under.
His nervous spouse Sanni McCandless was watching from inside Taipei 101, waving to her husband on the different facet of the glass as he handed her ground on his method up. After he summitted, she met him at a balcony under 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 constructing in the world – a title it held till it was usurped by Dubai’s 2717-foot (828-meter) Burj Kalifa. Ten different buildings taller than Taipei 101 have since been constructed, together with New York’s One World Trade Center, however it stays a spectacle in Taipei as it’s the tallest constructing in the metropolis.
Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te was fast to congratulate Honnold on his “truly nerve-wracking” spectacle. He hoped the occasion would permit the world to see “the warmth of the Taiwanese people and the island’s beautiful hills and landscapes,” he mentioned.
After the climb, Honnold mentioned he hoped individuals watching may very well be impressed by his climb to pursue their very own challenges or targets. And, in his signature matter-of-fact method, he summed up his achievement with few phrases:
“It’s so great. What a nice day.”