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Famed rock climber Alex Honnold has described some of the things that may work against him in his attempt to free climb one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers this weekend in Taiwan’s capital.
He’s described the possible fatigue presented by the 1,667-foot Taipei 101 skyscraper, which presents a monotonous route upward compared to nature’s infinite obstacles. And he’s loathed the structure’s balconies, which jut out every eight stories.
Then there was a new twist. On Friday night in the United States, Netflix announced weather is behind a 24-hour delay.
Honnold’s free climb, an endeavor to be undertaken without safety rope, was scheduled for Friday night stateside. It was moved to Saturday evening in the U.S., according to the streaming service, which will air the event live at 8 p.m. ET.
The climb is a feat, and the 40-year-old seems to be ready and focused.
“I try to take some deep breaths, compose myself, take some time,” Honnold said in a Netflix statement. “There’s never any time pressure, so you can spend as long as you need just hanging in one space basically trying to compose yourself.”
The California native who attended UC Berkeley has been climbing since age 11, he’s told interviewers, including Oprah Winfrey. In 2017 he solo climbed Yosemite’s 3,000-foot El Capitan, a feat that became the denouement in “Free Solo,” which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2019.
His official bio notes that he’s also accomplished a “triple solo” free climb of Mt. Watkins, Half Dome and El Capitan within 24 hours. He has also explored the natural, vertical features of Antarctica, South America, Greenland and elsewhere, it says.
Honnold said he believes Taipei 101 will present its own opposition.
“The challenge comes from the overall physicality of it,” he said in another Netflix statement. “The fatigue that [sets in] over the course of the building is slightly harder to anticipate. I don’t know how it’s gonna feel.”
He said, in part, “there’s a plan and I’m executing the plan.”
