Alex Honnold is a professional rock climber known for his extremely dangerous free-soloing ascents, meaning he is without a rope, harness or any protective gear. On Jan. 25, 2026, Honnold free-soloed the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taiwan, which is 1,667 feet tall. The climb aired live on Netflix, and Honnold finished with a time of 1 hour, 31 minutes.
Honnold grew up outside of Sacramento, Calif., and had an affinity for climbing at a young age. He began participating in national events by the time he was 10 years old and by age 18 was recognized as one of the top competitive outdoor climbers in the United States. After dropping out of the University of California, Berkeley, he began traveling in a van for about a decade so he could be near his favorite climbing spots.
Honnold is well known for his Oscar-winning National Geographic documentary “Free Solo” that follows the climber as he trains for and eventually free-solos El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. El Capitan is a 3,000-foot-tall vertical rock face, which is about two and a half times taller than the Empire State Building. Honnold is the first person to ever free solo the rock formation, accomplishing it in just under four hours. This is just one of the treacherous climbs the 40-year-old has completed, and he continues pushing himself to reach even higher heights.
“They approached me, and as a pro climber, that’s a big opportunity if someone wants to make a feature film about you. El Capitan was something I had been dreaming about for many years, so [the opportunity] just coincided with this project I wanted to do,” Honnold said to Self.com.
According to this interview, Honnold always wanted to complete a climb on something man-made, and his fascination with Taipei 101 stemmed because of the building’s bamboo-joints, reflective glass, jagged edges, metal beams and decorative fins. From 2004 to 2010, Taipei 101 was labeled as the tallest building in the world.
The climb was originally scheduled for Jan. 24, however, weather conditions prevented this, as any measure of safety is needed for free soloing. The next day, the weather was fair, with sunny skies and a slight breeze. Thousands of spectators stood at the bottom of the building, as well as news broadcasters, Elle Duncan, Seth Rollins and Emily Harrington, who were able to speak to Honnold through an earpiece as he ascended. When they weren’t talking, Honnold’s favorite band, Tool, was playing through the earpiece, to keep up his motivation.
Amelia Phillips (11) was nervous while watching Honnold climb the skyscraper and could not imagine free soloing because of how dangerous it is.
“The fact that he had no way of saving himself if something went wrong was incredibly scary. However, I do think the climb was worth the view for him because free soloing is his passion, so I know making it to the top was fulfilling,” Phillips said.
The ascent up Taipei 101 marks the first ever skyscraper climbed by Honnold, and he now holds the world record for highest urban free solo in history.
Martha Barre (12) watched Honnold climb the skyscraper.
“I would never be able to do something like that. Climbing a skyscraper seems very scary and is a strange hobby for someone with a wife and little kids,” Barre said.
