Alex Honnold isn’t the primary particular person to climb Taipei 101, however he’s the primary identified to have achieved it with out ropes or security nets.
Urban climber Alain Robert, also called the “French Spiderman,” climbed the 101-story Taiwanese skyscraper as a part of the constructing’s opening in 2004. He gave commentary on Honnold’s climb right now in NCS’s stay protection.
With a security belt and cord, Robert took 4 hours to finish the ascent on Christmas Day amid wet climate. The constructing additionally wasn’t completed on the time, with some steel beams nonetheless bearing slippery vinyl covers, complicating his try.
The two climbers in contrast notes on a latest episode of Honnold’s podcast “Climbing Gold,” in which Robert suggested Honnold to take breaks and gasoline up if wanted after climbing every of the eight segments on the tower’s exterior.
The rock climber turned his consideration to city feats in the mid-Nineties. The 63-year-old normally completes his summits with out the assistance of any security gear, relying solely on his naked fingers and a small bag of chalk for higher grip.
Robert has climbed a number of well-known landmarks, together with New York’s Empire State Building, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris — a few of which he did free solo.
While a few of Robert’s escapades are achieved legally — after being invited by nations or enterprises to “christen” the disclosing of a brand new constructing — he has been arrested over 120 times for related stunts.
“Life has to be dangerous,” Robert informed NCS in a 2010 interview. “There is a percentage of people who want to be a little bit outside their comfort zone and I am one of them, someone who lives on the edge.”