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
