American rock climber Alex Honnold scaled a building in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, on Sunday without any ropes or safety nets. The building, called Taipei 101, is 508 meters (1,667 feet) tall and has 101 floors. A large crowd gathered on the street to watch the daring climb.
Honnold completed the climb in about 90 minutes. He was wearing a red T-shirt. After reaching the top, he waved to the crowd. Honnold later said that the view from the top was beautiful, but the strong winds made it necessary for him to maintain his balance very carefully.
How did he climb Taipei 101?
He began climbing Taipei 101 from one corner of the building. He used small, L-shaped protrusions for footholds. In several places, he had to pull himself up by holding onto large decorative elements that jutted out from the building. The crowd below cheered and applauded him throughout the climb.
The most difficult part of the climb was the middle 64 floors, known as the bamboo box section. This design gives the building its distinctive appearance. The entire building is divided into eight sections, each with eight floors. The climb in these sections was very steep and outward-sloping. Honnold paused to rest on the balconies after each section.
ALEX HONNOLD AFTER COMPLETING HIS FREE SOLO OF TAIPEI 101: “Sick.”
The 101 story climb took 1 hour and 35 minutes #SkyscraperLIVE pic.twitter.com/TIzeRqiUcM
— Netflix (@netflix) January 25, 2026
The climb was live-streamed
The climb was live-streamed on Netflix. The climb was originally scheduled for Saturday, but it was postponed by a day due to rain. Alex Honnold is the first person to climb Taipei 101 without ropes. Previously, in 2004, French climber Alain Robert scaled the building with ropes.
Alex Honnold is already famous for his challenging free solo climbs. Earlier, he gained worldwide recognition by climbing the famous El Capitan rock in Yosemite National Park, United States, without ropes.
