American climber Alex Honnold, famed for his fearless exploits, has done it again! He climbed Taiwan's colossal Taipei 101 skyscraper without a shred of safety gear. No ropes. No harnesses. Just sheer courage!

Standing at a dizzying 508 meters, this steel and glass behemoth mimics a giant bamboo stick. But nothing's too tall or too tough for Honnold. The ascent, originally planned for a soggy Saturday, faced nature’s delay. Yet, as skies cleared, Honnold seized the opportunity in a heart-stopping live event, aired by Netflix.

Tension crackled. "We’ll cut away," declared Netflix’s Jeff Gaspin to Variety, just in case. But Honnold didn’t need a safety net, metaphorical or not. Instead, he crushed it in a mere 91 minutes! Compare this to Alain “Spiderman” Robert’s four-hour rope-assisted climb. A landslide victory for Honnold!

Even Taiwan’s Vice-President, Hsiao Bi-khim, tweeted about the nerve-wracking display. “I’d probably feel sick, too,” she admitted, echoing viewers' thoughts everywhere.

But the drama didn’t stop with official kudos. Alex’s wife watched, anxious for her high-flying husband, as winds whipped around. At floor 89, unexpected fans appeared, cheering him from behind the glass! Unperturbed, Honnold carried on, that iron will unshaken.

Shared Instagram moments showed the world why Honnold’s a legend. Mementos of another jaw-dropping feat etched in stone, or rather, steel and concrete. This isn’t his first brush with danger. His free solo climb of El Capitan became a cinematic triumph, snagging an Oscar.

Key Takeaways:

• Alex Honnold’s thrilling climb of Taipei 101 leaves crowds breathless!

• Outshines previous record by Spiderman Alain Robert in record time.

• Not even a fierce wind or hollering fans can shake this climber!

  

Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC 2026-01-25

 

 

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He’s not long for this world would be my guess but he’s certainly living it to the hilt now!noooo thanks!!I will use the lift!!yeiks!

Alex for President !!

Amazing achievement.

Idiod

Not to diminish Honnold's achievement, but I suspect a perfectly regular "machine-cut" building exterior is an easier climb than a rocky face out in the wilderness.

2 hours ago, Autocan said:

Not to diminish Honnold's achievement, but I suspect a perfectly regular "machine-cut" building exterior is an easier climb than a rocky face out in the wilderness.

You should show us how it's done.

5 hours ago, Autocan said:

Not to diminish Honnold's achievement, but I suspect a perfectly regular "machine-cut" building exterior is an easier climb than a rocky face out in the wilderness.

And pays a LOT better 😀

Honnold is a giant in the climbing community. They guy is like a human rabbit. There is a possibility he is not human. He might be a diety or an alien. Few humans can do what he dares to do. Honnold is on another leve

10 hours ago, still kicking said:

10 hours ago, still kicking said:

Idiod

Just because you don't have his level of courage and can't understand his heroic acts, no need to denigrate this giant of a man.

6 hours ago, Autocan said:

Not to diminish Honnold's achievement, but I suspect a perfectly regular "machine-cut" building exterior is an easier climb than a rocky face out in the wilderness.

Likely true. But it was still highly dangerous, and required great skill, courage and stamina. Kudos to Honnold. He is a modern day hero and giant.

6 hours ago, Autocan said:

Not to diminish Honnold's achievement, but I suspect a perfectly regular "machine-cut" building exterior is an easier climb than a rocky face out in the wilderness.

All depends on humidity, temperature, and ,,,,,,, I have climbed a little myself but not without a rope on this level. The thing is, whats going to kill you, is the everyday things that you go easy on, and not really consider as the most dangerous action. Here he is 100% focused.

No free solo is onsite experience and they usually take time to experience the routes with safety equipment like normal ropes, anchors and harness. They know every little piece of the rock face before they free soloing it.

Magnus is a former world champion in indoor climbing, and his channel is worth taking a look at, especially he tries all of the hardest army tests in the world including French Legion. If you bored, might be one of the channels you will enjoy for the next weeks or so.

48 minutes ago, Hummin said:

If you bored, might be one of the channels you will enjoy for the next weeks or so.

Lordie, I get dizzy looking down when I climb a chair to change a light bulb.

not sure i'd describe him as a daredevil, he is a hugely gifted climber, what an achievement.

the coverage would have benefited from some decent presenters, commentators and pundits, though as an american production what could you expect?

13 minutes ago, it is what it is said:

not sure i'd describe him as a daredevil, he is a hugely gifted climber, what an achievement.

the coverage would have benefited from some decent presenters, commentators and pundits, though as an american production what could you expect?

I haven't seen it, just a few short clips, how was it?

15 minutes ago, it is what it is said:

not sure i'd describe him as a daredevil, he is a hugely gifted climber, what an achievement.

the coverage would have benefited from some decent presenters, commentators and pundits, though as an american production what could you expect?

Yeah, I have watched the Netflix movie. It's a pity Alex selected these amateurs. The male guest presenter would fit a Harley-Davidson fan club and the lady lacked the experience to make it a spontaneous happening, it was all too much programmed.

11 hours ago, Autocan said:

Not to diminish Honnold's achievement, but I suspect a perfectly regular "machine-cut" building exterior is an easier climb than a rocky face out in the wilderness.

Technically yes, because it’s pretty much the same move over and over, BUT, that’s also what makes it more strenuous because in the “wild” you’ll have different moves that strain different parts of your body at different times. If you have to do the same move over and over it’s much easier to get pumped, which is never good, because it causes you to lose strength in your hands and forearms.

16 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Likely true. But it was still highly dangerous, and required great skill, courage and stamina. Kudos to Honnold. He is a modern day hero and giant.

In the brief time being a member here I haven`t read a single post of you, which I would disagree with. All of them very thoughtful proving excellent knowledge and deep reflection.

Except this one. Maybe it`s my age. I used to be a skydiver in my 20ies and 30ies and did some dangerous things then and I got kicked out more than once from scuba diving tours as I might not always have respected that 40 meter maximum depth we were supposed to dive ad for a few other reasons.

To be honest, now almost 3 decades later I do not understand my former self and those things I tried give me goosebumps but whatever crazy things I did back then, I never did it publicly, never put people in danger and I never motivated anyone else to do the same.

That being said there is nothing heroic about putting your own life in danger without any reason and is quite questionable if one does it publicly.

I am not worried about Honnold. He knows what he is doing and he loves it. People like him are a special breed. Dying of old age with 90 while lying in your own excrements scares them way more than one of their stunts going wrong.

But what about potential imitators? What about those, who might have had bad luck in the genetic lottery or belong to the losers in the rat race for a good education or a well-paid and job and now see their chance for fame and glory. Social Media are full of them.

My understanding of a hero is a courageous and selfless person who takes risks or makes sacrifices in the face of danger in order to help or protect others or achieve a similar noble goal.

(this includes any soldier, who is defending his country on his soil but excludes every soldier, who is defending freedom invading another country which would never pose a real threat to his country).

Honnold only faces dangers he created himself. He is not helping or protecting anybody. Quite the contrary: doing his stunts without any safety measures promotes dangerous behavior potentially creating copycats.

And there is nothing noble in crawling up a building.

It is probably a coincidence that almost exactly 2 years ago that British base jumper made his final jump in Pattaya hitting a tree. The tree survived.

Yeah, trees, telephone poles and a utility poles have a habit of deflecting vehicles, people and cars without much damage and inflicting untold damage on that which crashes into it.

You're probably right about the would-be imitators, but somehow I think that people will find inspiration to do things that are well beyond their typical capacity by witnessing something like this. Hopefully they won't die from it.

And thanks for the support, very kind of you.

18 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

Technically yes, because it’s pretty much the same move over and over, BUT, that’s also what makes it more strenuous because in the “wild” you’ll have different moves that strain different parts of your body at different times. If you have to do the same move over and over it’s much easier to get pumped, which is never good, because it causes you to lose strength in your hands and forearms.

I think the stamina aspect is probably the biggest factor to be considered here, he certainly does not leave himself room for fatigue on his typical climb, that's for sure. And for me that's part of what makes it heroic and extraordinary.

On 1/27/2026 at 2:43 AM, Autocan said:

Not to diminish Honnold's achievement, but I suspect a perfectly regular "machine-cut" building exterior is an easier climb than a rocky face out in the wilderness.

Watch the Netflix video. They discuss this in detail.

9 hours ago, Somjot said:

That being said there is nothing heroic about putting your own life in danger without any reason and is quite questionable if one does it publicly.

He didn't do it for nothing. He used to do it for nothing when younger, until he became famous for climbing a route of El Capitan free solo (no ropes or safety equipment) and made a multi-award-winning documentary film called "Free Solo" in 2018.

Being able to legally climb Taipei 101 was a dream come true for him. He's never scaled a building before, as there has never been an opportunity to do it legally. Of course, he would have done well financially out of it by creating a Netflix special. It's called buildering, and it is normally done at night to avoid detection or arrest. Anyone trying to copy this feat would already be a very experienced climber and be very well aware of the risks.

Don't worry about copycats. Alain Roberts has been climbing skyscrapers since 1996, and in 2023, he climbed the Burj Khalifa at the age of 61. He has been arrested and detained many times.

9 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I think the stamina aspect is probably the biggest factor to be considered here, he certainly does not leave himself room for fatigue on his typical climb, that's for sure. And for me that's part of what makes it heroic and extraordinary.

That's a common misperception about free soloing of which I was a victim of myself innitially until I've watched Alex' appearance on Joe Rogan. In a nutshell, pretty much no one in their right mind solos at the limit of their skill level. They always choose a route that's well within their limits when it comes to difficulty, as well as endurance. On rock, if it's a big project, they usually climb iit with a rope until they know every single move by heart. This can take years, as was the case with the nose on El Capitan that he soloed. They filmed that and and released it theatrically, and later on DVD. It's called Free Solo. In comparison to that, Taipei 101 is a cakewalk! I recommemd watching Free Solo as well as the two Joe Rogan episodes he did, if you're interested in it. It's an eye opener. Before I've seen the JRE episodes I thought that guy is insane, after that not so much anymore. I mean, it's still crazy and theres a million things that can go wrong and all it takes is one, but he knows what he's doing Also, he's been doing this for 3 decades now and he's still around. To get back on point now, in the Netflix film they did about the Taipei 101 climb you can see him train specifically for strength. I've seen him multiple times over the years without a shirt on, and he never looked that jacked before! Usually he just looks skinny with a bit of chest, but now hes muscled. So he really went for the strength training for this climb.

4 hours ago, JensenZ said:

He didn't do it for nothing. He used to do it for nothing when younger, until he became famous for climbing a route of El Capitan free solo (no ropes or safety equipment) and made a multi-award-winning documentary film called "Free Solo" in 2018.

Being able to legally climb Taipei 101 was a dream come true for him. He's never scaled a building before, as there has never been an opportunity to do it legally. Of course, he would have done well financially out of it by creating a Netflix special. It's called buildering, and it is normally done at night to avoid detection or arrest. Anyone trying to copy this feat would already be a very experienced climber and be very well aware of the risks.

Don't worry about copycats. Alain Roberts has been climbing skyscrapers since 1996, and in 2023, he climbed the Burj Khalifa at the age of 61. He has been arrested and detained many times.

He actually did climb a building before, it was in Africa during one of the solar panel trips he did with his foundation. It had multiple stories, don't remember exactly how many, but it definitely wasn't a skyscraper, leave alone one of this magnitude.

He's a magnificent beast, that one. Free Solo blew my mind. Just to have the balls to even think about doing the nose on El Capitan is absolutely beyond me. It's a good thing that his balls, which are the size of dwarf planets, are detachable because they'd be such a drag on the crag! 🤪

10 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Yeah, trees, telephone poles and a utility poles have a habit of deflecting vehicles, people and cars without much damage and inflicting untold damage on that which crashes into it.

You're probably right about the would-be imitators, but somehow I think that people will find inspiration to do things that are well beyond their typical capacity by witnessing something like this. Hopefully they won't die from it.

And thanks for the support, very kind of you.

You`re welcome.

Don`t get me wrong, I totally agree with the inspiration aspect, you mention and to quote Nelson Mandela: "It always seems impossible until it's done."

My only criticism was that he did it without any safety measures.

Being a former skydiver I know, you can have the best gear, the most modern primary canopy with your backup canopy packed by the most trustworthy certified rigger and the most reliable

AAD (Automatic Activation Device) (I always used the Cypres (Cybernetic Parachute Release System)) and still things can go wrong. That`s why the practical training for the license consists mostly of what to do when that happens.

6 hours ago, JensenZ said:

He didn't do it for nothing. He used to do it for nothing when younger, until he became famous for climbing a route of El Capitan free solo (no ropes or safety equipment) and made a multi-award-winning documentary film called "Free Solo" in 2018.

Being able to legally climb Taipei 101 was a dream come true for him. He's never scaled a building before, as there has never been an opportunity to do it legally. Of course, he would have done well financially out of it by creating a Netflix special. It's called buildering, and it is normally done at night to avoid detection or arrest. Anyone trying to copy this feat would already be a very experienced climber and be very well aware of the risks.

Don't worry about copycats. Alain Roberts has been climbing skyscrapers since 1996, and in 2023, he climbed the Burj Khalifa at the age of 61. He has been arrested and detained many times.

Would he have been paid less if he would have taken all precautions?

1 hour ago, Somjot said:

Would he have been paid less if he would have taken all precautions?

It was the 2nd ascent in the building's history. The first time was on 25 December 2004, when the French rock and urban climber Alain Robert made an authorised climb to the top of the pinnacle in four hours, using ropes. At that time, it was the tallest building in the world.

Making the climb in a T-shirt with nothing more than chalk in 91 minutes is orders of magnitude harder, and with ropes and a harness, he wouldn't have been paid at all, as it had been done before.

4 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

That's a common misperception about free soloing of which I was a victim of myself innitially until I've watched Alex' appearance on Joe Rogan. In a nutshell, pretty much no one in their right mind solos at the limit of their skill level. They always choose a route that's well within their limits when it comes to difficulty, as well as endurance. On rock, if it's a big project, they usually climb iit with a rope until they know every single move by heart. This can take years, as was the case with the nose on El Capitan that he soloed. They filmed that and and released it theatrically, and later on DVD. It's called Free Solo. In comparison to that, Taipei 101 is a cakewalk! I recommemd watching Free Solo as well as the two Joe Rogan episodes he did, if you're interested in it. It's an eye opener. Before I've seen the JRE episodes I thought that guy is insane, after that not so much anymore. I mean, it's still crazy and theres a million things that can go wrong and all it takes is one, but he knows what he's doing Also, he's been doing this for 3 decades now and he's still around. To get back on point now, in the Netflix film they did about the Taipei 101 climb you can see him train specifically for strength. I've seen him multiple times over the years without a shirt on, and he never looked that jacked before! Usually he just looks skinny with a bit of chest, but now hes muscled. So he really went for the strength training for this climb.

I completely agree with everything you said, and I saw Free Solo and thought it was amazing, but nonetheless that doesn't take anything away from the staggering level of accomplishments that this man has achieved, and the incredible level of danger that he faces when doing these climbs. It doesn't matter how good you are, one slip and you are finished.

1 hour ago, JensenZ said:

It was the 2nd ascent in the building's history. The first time was on 25 December 2004, when the French rock and urban climber Alain Robert made an authorised climb to the top of the pinnacle in four hours, using ropes. At that time, it was the tallest building in the world.

Making the climb in a T-shirt with nothing more than chalk in 91 minutes is orders of magnitude harder, and with ropes and a harness, he wouldn't have been paid at all, as it had been done before.

So the next person to attempt the climb needs to do it in a pair of speedos while playing the harmonica.

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I completely agree with everything you said, and I saw Free Solo and thought it was amazing, but nonetheless that doesn't take anything away from the staggering level of accomplishments that this man has achieved, and the incredible level of danger that he faces when doing these climbs. It doesn't matter how good you are, one slip and you are finished.

To use his own words, high consequence, low risk!

But yeah, wouldn'tbe for me...

9 hours ago, kwak250 said:

So the next person to attempt the climb needs to do it in a pair of speedos while playing the harmonica.

That's it for Taipei 101. It's over, no more next time.