"American rock climber Alex Honnold climbed the Taipei 101 skyscraper on Sunday without any ropes or protective equipment. Cheers erupted from a gathered crowd as he started climbing the 508-meter (1,667ft) tower earlier Sunday, using the horizontal metal beams to pull himself up with his bare hands. The onlookers cheered again when he paused at one point and turned around to face them, in a red short-sleeve shirt that stood out as he made the climb."
"Honnold's free solo climb of the iconic building in Taiwan's capital city was being broadcast live on Netflix with a 10-second delay. The ascent, originally scheduled for Saturday, was delayed for 24 hours due to rain. The climb drew both excitement and concern over the ethical implications of attempting such a high-risk endeavor on live broadcast. 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."
"The building has 101 floors, with the hardest part being the 64 floors comprising the middle section the bamboo boxes that give the building 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 isn't the first climber to ascend the skyscraper, but he is the first to do so without a rope."
Alex Honnold climbed Taipei 101 without ropes or protective equipment, scaling the 508-meter tower using horizontal metal beams and small L-shaped outcroppings as holds. The ascent was broadcast live on Netflix with a 10-second delay and was delayed 24 hours because of rain. Onlookers cheered when he paused and turned to face them while wearing a red short-sleeve shirt. The route required maneuvering around large ornamental structures and negotiating the building's middle 64 floors characterized by bamboo-box segments with steep, overhanging climbing and balconies where he rested. Honnold is the first climber to ascend Taipei 101 without a rope; Alain Robert previously scaled it in 2004.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]