Why man is risking his life to scale 1667-foot tower in Netflix live stream despite never climbing skyscraper before
An American climber is set to risk his life by scaling one of the world's tallest buildings live on Netflix this week.
Alex Honnold shot to fame in 2017 when he became the first person to 'free solo' a full route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, described as 'one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever' by the New York Times.
Free solo climbing is the riskiest of all. As the name suggests, it involves climbing with only the use of the human body and chalk, with absolutely no ropes or protective gear to catch a fall - making any mistake potentially fatal.
And on Friday (January 23), Alex will be mounting Taipei 101, a 1,667-foot structure located in Taiwan, entirely alone.
Advert
With the exception of a Netflix camera crew, that is, who will be streaming the entire thing almost as it happens (with a 10-second delay).
In the trailer for Skyscraper Live, which you can watch below, the father-of-two says it's been 'a lifelong dream' of his to take on such a task.
"I think I've gotten used to fear over the years - it's an ever-present part of climbing," he said, adding: "No matter how much you prepare, occasionally, things just happen.
"If you fall… you're gonna die."
Alex, who has been climbing for 30 years, insists Taipei 101 is 'uniquely suited for climbing', with balconies every eight floors.
Still, the big question remains: why would the 40-year-old take on a challenge that makes most people feel sick just thinking about it?
Alex told Tudum: "I first saw this building more than 10 years ago, and I’ve hoped to have the opportunity to climb it since then."
He added that it is 'rare' to get permission to climb such a building, and now he's allowed, he must 'take advantage'.
The building was first climbed in 2004 - but Alex wants to do a better job.
"Taipei 101, as part of its opening ceremony, was climbed by a French climber named Alain Robert with ropes, and he climbed it over four hours - he had just broken his arm or something crazy," Alex recalled.
"I think, if I do this, it’ll be the biggest urban free solo ever. I think it’s the tallest building that’s been climbed. I’m not 100 percent sure, but I think so."
He continued: "Also, I’m hoping to climb it a little better - just to go up on the top, smoothly climb well, and feel great on it.
"And that’s a subtle distinction that a viewer might not be able to see, but to me it’s important to climb it well. You want to feel good doing it."
Although the Californian admits he'll feel 'a little nervous' at the bottom of the skyscraper, despite his two a half months of training for this specific feat.
"It’s something totally new... This is going to be my first big handmade structure, so I’m sure it’ll feel a little different," Alex said.
Skyscraper Live broadcasts on January 23 at 5pm PT/ 8pm ET/ 1am GMT on Netflix.
Topics: Netflix, Sport, US News, Streaming, Film and TV, Life, World News
Ellie Kemp