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American rock climber Alex Honnold has climbed the Taipei 101 skyscraper with none ropes or protective equipment.
Cheers erupted from a street-level crowd in Taiwan as he reached the highest of 1,667ft tower just 90 minutes after he began.
Wearing a red short-sleeve shirt, Honnold waved his arms forwards and backwards over his head and said: ‘It was like what a view, it’s incredible, what a ravishing day.
‘It was very windy, so I used to be like, don’t fall off the spire. I used to be attempting to balance nicely. But it surely was, what an incredible position, what a ravishing strategy to see Taipei.’
Honnold, known for his ropeless ascent up Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan, climbed up one corner of Taipei 101 using small L-shaped outcroppings as footholds.
Periodically, he needed to manoeuvre around and clamber up the perimeters of huge ornamental structures that jut out from the tower, pulling himself up along with his bare hands.
The constructing has 101 floors, with the toughest part being the 64 floors of the center section – the ‘bamboo boxes’ that give the constructing 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.
Honnold’s free solo climb of the long-lasting constructing in Taiwan’s capital city was broadcast continue to exist Netflix with a 10-second delay. The ascent, originally scheduled for Saturday, was delayed for twenty-four hours because of rain.
Having a cheering crowd was unusual and a bit unnerving at first for Honnold, whose climbs are frequently in distant areas.
‘After I was leaving the bottom, you’re like ‘oh it’s sort of intense, there’s so many individuals watching’,’ he said.
‘But then, truthfully, they’re all wishing me well. I mean, mainly, it just makes the entire experience feel almost more festive, all these nice persons are out supporting me and having an excellent time.”
Honnold will not be the primary climber to ascend Taipei 101 but he’s the primary to achieve this with no rope.
French rock climber Alain Robert scaled the constructing on Christmas Day in 2004 as a part of the grand opening of what was then the world’s tallest constructing.
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