Honnold's rope-free Taipei 101 climb delayed by rain
Honnold's rope-free Taipei 101 climb delayed by rain
Weather delays Alex Honnold's rope-free ascent of Taipei 101 in Taiwan; the climb is rescheduled as Netflix gears up for a live staged event.
An American climber, Alex Honnold, has postponed his rope-free ascent of Taipei 101 due to rain, pushing the climb back by a day. The tower, towering at 508 meters (1,667 feet), is a steel, glass and concrete marvel with eight sections that echo the joints of a bamboo stalk. Honnold, famed for previously scaling El Capitan without ropes, says the weather has made the surface too slick for a safe ascent, prompting production teams to pause the live event.
Netflix is on board to stream the climb, though it will include a safety buffer. The service described a 10-second delay to cut away in case of any unforeseen trouble, emphasizing that safety remains the top priority for the staged spectacle. The climb will unfold in three stages: an initial 113-meter section of sloping steel and glass, followed by the eight “bamboo” sections, and finally the spire at the tower’s top.
Honnold, now 40 and a husband with two children, has said it’s a lifelong dream to tackle such a skyscraper—one he hopes to fulfill in time for viewers at home. The event adds to a history of bold ropeless feats, though Taipei 101 has seen previous attempts, including France’s Alain Robert in 2004, who climbed it with safety gear and rope in about four hours.
As organizers monitor conditions, the public waits for a sunny window. When the climb resumes, it will test not only Honnold’s nerve but the precision of a production built around live performance, safety nets, and a global audience watching a modern marvel be scaled without the usual safeguards.
