Renowned for his daring ropeless climb of Yosemite’s El Capitan, captured in the documentary “Free Solo,” Alex Honnold is set to take on a new challenge.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — The highly anticipated ropeless climb of the Taipei 101 skyscraper by professional climber Alex Honnold has been postponed by 24 hours due to unfavorable weather conditions, according to event organizers.
Originally, Honnold’s daring ascent of the landmark structure in Taiwan’s capital was scheduled to be streamed live on Netflix on Saturday local time, which coincided with Friday evening for audiences in the United States.
However, persistent rain in Taipei prompted the delay just under an hour before the event was set to begin. The climb is now rescheduled for Sunday morning, as forecasts predict clearer skies.
Netflix emphasized in their statement that the climber’s safety remains their utmost concern.
Organizers had previously acknowledged the possibility of light rain on the event day and were prepared to postpone the climb if weather conditions compromised Honnold’s safety.
The event will air live on Saturday evening in the U.S. at 5 p.m. Pacific or 8 p.m. Eastern.
What will happen?
The earthquake-proof skyscraper of steel and glass has captured the imagination of professional rock climber Alex Honnold for more than a decade. On Saturday morning —Friday night in the United States—he will climb it in his signature free solo style, without ropes or protective equipment. And Netflix will broadcast it live.
The event’s announcement has drawn both excitement and trepidation, as well as some concerns over the ethical implications of attempting such a high-risk endeavor on live broadcast. Many have questioned Honnold’s desire to continue his free-solo climbs now that he’s a married father of two young girls.
Known for his legendary ropeless ascent up Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan, documented in “Free Solo,” Honnold is intent on pushing the limits of climbing around the world.
“When you look at climbing objectives, you look for things that are singular,” Honnold told The Associated Press late last year. “Something like El Capitan where it’s way bigger and way prouder than all the things around it.”
Something like Taipei 101.
What time is ‘Skyscraper Live’?
Netflix will now air Alex Honnold’s climb of Taipei 101 live on Saturday evening in the U.S. at 5 p.m. Pacific or 8 p.m. Eastern.
The “Skyscraper Live” will be on a 10-second delay. Should the unthinkable happen, Netflix will cut away, Netflix unscripted series VP Jeff Gaspin told Variety.
“Nobody expects or wants to see anything like that to happen,” Gaspin said. “But we will cut away, and it’s as simple as that.”
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, according to James Smith, an executive with event producer Plimsoll Productions. Ultimately, if conditions are bad, Honnold won’t climb.
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 has 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.
Smith 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.”
At his local gym, Taiwanese rock climber Chin Tzu-hsiang said he’s grown up always looking up at the Taipei 101 and wondering whether he could climb it.
Honnold is a household name among rock climbers, even in Taiwan. 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?”
Ding reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalist Simina Mistreanu contributed reporting.
Jennifer Campbell-Hicks contributed to this report.
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