Alex Honnold free-solos Taipei 101 in live Netflix special

According to People, Alex Honnold, the 40-year-old climber and father of two, successfully climbed Taiwan's 101-story Taipei 101 without ropes or harnesses on Sunday, Jan. 25 (or Saturday, Jan. 24 in America), in a live Netflix special.

The free solo ascent, billed as Skyscraper Live, had been scheduled for Friday, Jan. 23 but was postponed 24 hours because of weather. Honnold’s wife, Sanni McCandless, told him as he began his descent, "I was basically having a panic attack the entire time," adding, "You did great!" Honnold has been climbing for about 30 years, was featured in the 2018 documentary Free Solo about his 2017 El Capitan climb, and told Netflix’s Tudum he was curious what it would feel like to climb a building this big and that his goal was simply not to fall off.

He told Tudum he planned to "take the elevator down, I’ll see my wife, we’ll be psyched" and that he would "eat at the buffet that night" before returning to his climbing practice. Skyscraper Live aired on Netflix.

Key Topics

Culture, Alex Honnold, Netflix, Skyscraper Live, Sanni Mccandless, Honnold Foundation