Alex Honnold describes his rope-free climb up Taipei 101 skyscraper


Stay present for each move at a time, over and over. Thatโ€™s how Alex Honnold describes the challenge of ascending one of the world’s tallest buildings without any ropes or nets.

โ€œI kind of lost track of space and time to some extent,โ€ the American rock climber told NBC News’ ‘TODAY’ in an interview after climbing the famous Taipei 101 skyscraper.

โ€œIt feels infinite,โ€ he said of the tower that sits 1,667-feet tall. โ€œWhen you look up, all you can see is building as far as you go, and so it just keeps going forever.โ€

Honnold gained world-wide fame after ascending Yosemite National Parkโ€™s 3,000-foot El Capitan without safety equipment or rope in 2017.

He said that far from feeling the strain as he got closer to the top of the Taipei skyscraper, climbing the final section felt like a โ€œvictory lap.โ€

American Climber Alex Honnold Climbs Taipei 101 Building
Taipei 101 building.CFOTO / Future Publishing via Getty Images

It gets a little easier toward the very top, he said, โ€œwhere you can really savor the view and appreciate the position.โ€

And what a view it was.

Taipei 101 towers over the capital of Taiwan, its steel-and-glass stature becoming synonymous with the city.

It was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010, a title currently held by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Thousands of nervous fans and members of the media were watching Honnoldโ€™s โ€œfree soloโ€ climb and cheering him on late Saturday, as his red-shirt silhouette got smaller and smaller on his way up.

Skyscraper Live
Alex Honnold holds on to the exterior of Taipei 101.Netflix

Some fans cheered him on from inside the building, holding up motivational banners in the windows to keep Honnold going. He had to postpone his climb on Saturday due to rainy conditions.

โ€œSick,โ€ Honnold said as he stood at the top spire of the building and waved his arms to those watching below. The event was livestreamed on Netflix with a 10-second delay so the public could follow closely his daring leaps and no-hands holds. The live broadcast of a potentially life-threatening stunt has drawn both excitement and concerns over its ethical implications.

Image: TAIWAN-CLIMBING-HONNOLD
Honnold raises his arms from the top of the Taipei 101 building.I-Hwa Cheng / AFP via Getty Images

It took Honnold just over 1.5 hours to complete his 101-story climb. Reaching the summit of the building and standing at the top was not scary, Honnold said.

โ€œThat was a lot less scary to stand on the top of the building than it is to climb the side of the building,โ€ he added. Honnold even had time to take a historic selfie at the summit.

Honnold had the extra challenge of windy conditions on the corner that he was climbing.

He also had to scale the buildingโ€™s overhanging structures that resemble โ€œbamboo boxesโ€ on his way up. โ€œBecause it overhangs, itโ€™s more physically demanding. Itโ€™s just a little bit tiring. And itโ€™s just, yes, the hardest moves on the climb,โ€ Honnold said.

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