TAIPEI – Standing majestically over the cityscape of Taiwan’s bustling capital, Taipei 101 reaches an impressive height of 1,667 feet (508 meters), making it an iconic feature of the skyline.
This steel and glass architectural marvel, renowned for its earthquake-resistant design, has long fascinated professional rock climber Alex Honnold. This Saturday morning, Honnold plans to ascend the skyscraper in his renowned free solo style, climbing without the aid of ropes or protective gear. The daring endeavor will be broadcast live by Netflix.
The announcement of this event has sparked a mix of excitement and apprehension, with some expressing concern about the ethics of broadcasting such a high-risk feat live. Questions have arisen about Honnold’s motivations to continue these perilous climbs now that he is a husband and father to two young daughters.
Honnold, who gained fame for his historic ropeless ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, as captured in the documentary “Free Solo,” remains committed to pushing the boundaries of climbing on a global scale.
“When considering climbing goals, you’re drawn to objectives that stand out,” Honnold shared with The Associated Press last year. “Like El Capitan, which is significantly larger and more impressive than its surroundings.”
And now, Honnold sets his sights on Taipei 101.
How to free solo a skyscraper
Honnold won’t be the first climber to ascend the skyscraper, but he will be the first to do so without a rope. French rock climber Alain Robert scaled the building on Christmas Day in 2004, as part of the grand opening of what was then the world’s tallest building. He took nearly four hours to finish, almost twice as long as what he anticipated, all while nursing an injured elbow and battered by wind and rain.
Honnold, who has been training for months, doesn’t think his climb will be hard. He’s practiced the moves on the building and spoke with Robert on his climbing podcast.
“I don’t think it’ll be that extreme,” Honnold said. “We’ll see. I think it’s the perfect sweet spot where it’s hard enough to be engaging for me and obviously an interesting climb.”
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 will have eight floors of steep, overhanging climbing followed by a balcony that Honnold would be able to rest on.
The “Skyscraper Live” broadcast will be on a 10-second delay and begin Friday evening for viewers in the U.S.
James Smith, an executive with event producer Plimsoll Productions, said he consulted safety advisers almost immediately after he first spoke with Honnold about attempting the climb. Smith works with a risk management group for film and TV called Secret Compass, which has supported productions in filming penguins in Antarctica and helping Chris Hemsworth walk across a crane projecting from an Australian skyscraper’s roof, alike.
Smith and Honnold will be able to communicate throughout the event. They’ll have cameramen positioned inside the building, various hatches and places to bail during the climb and four high-angle camera operators suspended on ropes.
“These people all know Alex. They trust Alex. They’re going to be close to him throughout the whole climb,” Smith said. “They’re going to get us kind of amazing shots, but they’re also there just to keep an eye on him, and if there’s any problems, they can kind of help.”
The production has also commissioned professional weather forecasters to provide updates leading up to climb day. There’s currently a small chance of light rain in the morning, Smith said. Ultimately, if conditions are bad, Honnold won’t climb.
At his local gym, Taiwanese rock climber Chin Tzu-hsiang said he’s grown up always looking up at the Taipei 101 and wondering if he could climb it. Honnold is a household name among rock climbers even in Taiwan, and Chin said he has students who have only been climbing for a year or two who are excited to watch. Based on watching Honnold in his other climbs, Chin said he trusts him to prepare for the challenge and not to recklessly take risks.
“For Alex Honnold to finish the climb, it’s like he’s helping us fulfill our dream,” Chin said.
Ethical considerations and responsibility
The novelty and risk involved in the climb are almost built for television.
“This will be the highest, the biggest urban free solo ever,” Smith said. “So we’re kind of writing history and those events, I think, have to be broadcast and watched live.”
Those same factors are crucial when discussing the ethics of the climb, according to Subbu Vincent, director of media and journalism ethics at Santa Clara University.
It’s important that Honnold has a “back-off clause” and the production aspect of the event doesn’t increase the risk he’s already taking, Vincent said. One action that Vincent believes is crucial is using a delay in the live broadcast so it can be stopped immediately if something goes wrong.
“I don’t think it’s ethical to proceed to livestream anything after,” Vincent said.
Taipei 101 officials declined to comment and Secret Compass did not respond to interview requests.
Another consideration is the influence Honnold may have on impressionable youth who may feel more emboldened to take risks after watching him climb, a debate that has existed since Evel Knievel’s televised daredevil stunts.
Many climbers have died from free-soloing, including an 18-year-old rock climber from Texas who fell last June in Yosemite. A trend called “roof-topping” — where people gain access to the tops of skyscrapers, often illegally, to take photos of themselves dangling from the edge — has also led to several deaths.
Jeff Smoot, who authored the book “All and Nothing: Inside Free Soloing,” shares those concerns. But what the general public might not understand is that embracing risk has always been a significant part of climbing culture, he said.
Smoot began climbing in the 1970s watching legendary climbers like John Long and John Bachar free-solo regularly.
“From the public’s perspective, this is thrill-seeking. From the climber’s perspective, it’s a meditative art form,” Smoot said.
When he first heard Honnold would be ascending Taipei 101 without ropes, Smoot had questions — why do it at all, why do it without ropes, why film it live?
But, he concluded, “If it wasn’t dangerous, would people want to watch?”
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Ding reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalist Simina Mistreanu contributed reporting.
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