A rock climber who planned on scaling a 101-storey tower without ropes live on Netflix has put his attempt on hold for 24 hours amid safety fears.
Alex Honnold said he would climb Taiwan’s 1,667 feet skyscraper – formerly the world’s tallest building – on Saturday morning in his signature free solo style.
The much-anticipated event caused excitement but led to some fans questioning the 40-year-old’s plans as he is a married father of two girls.
Netflix has now announced that viewers will have to wait until Saturday at 8pm ET, 1am on Sunday in Britain, due to wet weather conditions in the city.
The streamer said in a statement: ‘Safety remains our top priority, and we appreciate your understanding.’
Built in 2004, Taipei 101 features mostly glass curtain walls, with balconies near the top.
Mr Honnold is known for his iconic ropeless ascent up Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan, documented in ‘Free Solo’.
He said: ‘When you look at climbing objectives, you look for things that are singular.
Alex Honnold (pictured) said he would climb Taiwan’s 1,667 feet skyscraper – formerly the world’s tallest building – on Saturday morning in his signature free solo style
Built in 2004, Taipei 101 features mostly glass curtain walls, with balconies near the top
‘Something like El Capitan where it’s way bigger and way prouder than all the things around it.’
Mr Honnold would not be the first climber to ascend the skyscraper but would 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, while nursing an injured elbow and battered by wind and rain.
Mr Honnold, who has been training for months, has said he does not think the climb will be hard.
He said he had practiced the moves on the building.
Speaking on a climbing podcast, he added: ‘I don’t think it’ll be that extreme.
‘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.’
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The building has 101 floors, with the hardest part being the 64 floors comprising the middle section – the ‘bamboo boxes’ that give the structure its signature look.
Divided into eight, each segment will have eight floors of steep, overhanging climbing followed by a balcony that Mr Honnold would be able to rest on.
The ‘Skyscraper Live’ broadcast is expected to be on a 10-second delay.
James Smith, an executive with event producer Plimsoll Productions, said he consulted safety advisers almost immediately after he first spoke with Mr Honnold about attempting the climb.
Mr Smith works with a risk management group for film and TV called Secret Compass, which has supported productions such as filming penguins in Antarctica and helping Chris Hemsworth walk across a crane projecting from an Australian skyscraper’s roof.
Mr Smith and Mr Honnold will be able to communicate throughout the event. They will have cameramen positioned inside the building, various hatches and places to bail during the climb and four high-angle camera operators suspended on ropes.
Mr Smith said: ‘These people all know Alex. They trust Alex. They’re going to be close to him throughout the whole climb.
‘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.’
Mr Honnold is known for his iconic ropeless ascent up Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan, documented in ‘Free Solo’
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The production also commissioned professional weather forecasters to provide updates leading up to the climb.
Previously, Mr Smith had said: ‘There’s currently a small chance of light rain in the morning. Ultimately, if conditions are bad, Honnold won’t climb.’
Taiwanese rock climber Chin Tzu-hsiang said at his local gym that he had grown up always looking up at the Taipei 101 and wondering if he could climb it.
Mr Honnold is a household name among rock climbers – including in Taiwan, and Chin said he has students who have only been climbing for a year or two but are excited to watch.
Based on watching Mr Honnold in his other climbs, Chin said he trusted 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.
Speaking on the anticipated risk, Mr Smith said: ‘This will be the highest, the biggest urban free solo ever.
‘So we’re kind of writing history and those events, I think, have to be broadcast and watched live.’
Mr Honnold would not be the first climber to ascend the skyscraper but would be the first to do so without a rope
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Subbu Vincent, director of media and journalism ethics at Santa Clara University, said Mr Honnold had a ‘back-off clause’ and the production aspect of the event did not increase the risk he was taking already.
Mr Vincent said he believed the delay was crucial in the live broadcast so it could be stopped immediately if something went wrong.
‘I don’t think it’s ethical to proceed to livestream anything after,’ Mr Vincent said.
Climbers to have died from free-soloing, include 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,’ shared the concerns. But he said the general public might not understand that embracing risk had always been a significant part of climbing culture.
Mr Smoot began climbing in the 1970s after 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,’ Mr Smoot said.
When he first heard Mr Honnold would be ascending Taipei 101 without ropes, Mr Smoot asked why there were no ropes, why there why it was taking place live and why it was happening at all.
But, he added: ‘If it wasn’t dangerous, would people want to watch?’
