Scariest moments from Alex Honnold’s Taipei 101 free solo

Here are some of the scariest moments of his free solo up Taipei 101.

Battling dragons 

Made to honor the heritage of the island, the sides of the tower are adorned with 15-foot, metal interpretations of dragon heads. Their height and relatively flat design make them a real challenge to climb. Each time, Honnold approached them from the side, jumping against the flat surface and swinging his leg into the next foothold, a process he needed complete ten times. 

The overhangs 

And of course, this architectural work of wonder didn’t stop with dragons and steep inclines. Like with mountain-climbing, there are overhangs that require more than their fair share of upper-body strength to surmount. These overhangs came towards the final stretch of the climb, after much of Honnold’s stamina had been exerted.

No hands! 

In true Alex Honnold fashion, the expert climber decided to make a strenuous and hazardous ordeal look easy. When climbing the metal slats meant to resemble a bowl, Honnold decided to give his hands a break, holding on with his legs and dipping his hands into a pouch of chalk positioned behind his back, a respite that would make anyone’s heart skip a beat. 

The summit 

After one hour, 31 minutes and 35 seconds, Honnold stood atop the spire. But, of course, the thrill wasn’t exactly over. Having conquered the tower, Honnold celebrated. Waving his hands in the air, he stood on the small, spherical surface at the summit of the building. The climb was over, but it was hard to let the nerves settle while watching as Honnold stood at full height in a precarious position for a nauseating amount of time. Never a dull moment. 

While not the first to climb Taipei 101, Honnold is the first to free solo the building. Saturday’s event marks the first-ever free climb of a skyscraper of this height.