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The spine-tingling stunt was streamed live on Netflix
Ellie Muir, Phil Thomas & Arpan RaiSunday 25 January 2026 22:01 GMT- Bookmark
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CloseAlex Honnold makes history with rope-free climb of Taipei 101
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Alex Honnold has sensationally scaled one of the tallest skyscrapers on Earth with only a bag of chalk — and no ropes or safety gear.
The American rock climber took one hour, 31 minutes and 43 seconds to complete the hair-raising stunt on Saturday evening. On Friday night, just minutes before Skyscraper Live was due to air on Netflix on Friday (January 23), it was announced that the special had been postponed due to wet weather conditions in Taipei.
Fans of 40-year-old Honnold tuned in to watch the professional rock climber take on Taipei 101, the 1,667-foot, 101-story tower that dominates the skyline of Taiwan’s capital.
Built in 2004, Taipei 101 features mostly glass curtain walls, with balconies near the top that taper to a pointed peak, a design inspired by the ridges on a stick of bamboo. It was once the world’s tallest building until the construction of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in 2010.
Honnold is known for his record-breaking ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in 2017, which was captured in the Oscar-winning documentary, Free Solo.
He has noted that Taipei 101 was previously climbed by French urban climber Alain Robert — but with ropes.
Follow along below for live updates on the climb
Key Points
- Photo: Alex shares selfie after completing historic climb of Taipei 101
- How much did Alex Honnold get paid?
- Rainy weather made climbing Taipei 101 experience a 'grand adventure', says Honnold
- Honnold's wife cheers him on as he inches closer to record-breaking ascent
- What would have happened if Honnold fell during the climb?
Taipei 101: the 1,667-foot, 101-story tower in question
From 2004 to 2010, Taipei 101 held the title as the world’s tallest building at 1,667 ft until Burj Khalifa in Dubai was built and took over that title.
The building was named after the number 101, which represents going beyond perfection, and its stacked segments are meant to resemble bamboo stalks.
Inside the building is a 660-metric-ton golden steel sphere, suspended between the 87th–92nd floors, that stabilizes the tower.
Ellie Muir25 January 2026 22:01Why Alex Honnold's climb was the first of its kind
Alex Honnold isn’t the first person to climb Taipei 101. On Christmas Day 2004, the French climber Alain Robert scaled the 1,667ft tower in four hours.
But there’s a big difference in the American’s approach — he didn’t use any ropes or safety equipment. And, he did it in one hour and 31 minutes.
Ellie Muir25 January 2026 21:30Honnold's wife Sanni recalls her 'internal experience' while watching husband scale Taipei 101
Alex Honnold’s wife Sanni can breathe a sigh of relief now that his feet are firmly back on the ground.
Speaking at a press conference, she revealed that she would not have traded places with him.
“I was telling someone that when you really love someone, and you think that they might be stressed, you say, ‘I wish I could take their place, I wish I could take their stress away,'” she said. “But in this case, I was like, ‘Thank god I’m not him!'”
She added, “I knew the second he left the ground, it would all just, not fade away, but kind of get quieter, be more of an internal experience, and then just be joyful. So, I was really happy once it just started, there wasn’t any waiting, and he got to do what he wanted to do.”
The Honnolds pictured in 2019 (Getty Images)Ellie Muir25 January 2026 20:13All about Honnold and his wife
Honnold met his wife, Sanni McCandless Honnold, when he was doing a talk and book signing in Seattle in 2015.
Recalling the moment they met, McCandless said: “I hadn’t known a single thing about him, but after listening to him speak, I decided he was cute and funny. So I left my phone number on the table as I walked away. A few weeks later, we went on our first date.”
Six months later, in June 2016, she quit her job and traveled across Europe with Alex for the summer.
“He was like no one I had ever met: incredibly brave, quietly in need of love and approval, confident, and whip-smart,” she wrote in an essay for Outside magazine, adding that he was also “playful and made me laugh.”
The couple married in 2020 before they welcomed their two daughters: June, born in 2022, and Alice, born in 2024.
Alex Honnold and his wife Sanni (Instagram via @sannimccandless)Ellie Muir25 January 2026 19:30How much did Honnold get paid?
During an interview, Honnold refused to disclose the exact amount of his paycheck. “It’s an embarrassing amount,” he said.
When pressed further, he added: “Actually, if you put it in the context of mainstream sports, it’s an embarrassingly small amount. You know, Major League Baseball players get like $170 million contracts. Like, someone you haven’t even heard of and that nobody cares about.” and sharpens the context:
When the interviewer floated a $10 million figure, Honnold quickly shot it down. “No!” he said. “So in that case, yeah — an embarrassingly small amount.”
According to The New York Times, two people with direct knowledge of the deal said the climber will be paid in the mid-six figures.
Ellie Muir25 January 2026 18:00Watch: The moment Honnold says hello to his wife mid-climb
Alex Honnold stopped to check in with his wife halfway up his 1667ft skyscraper free solo climbEllie Muir25 January 2026 17:30Alex Honnold's next climb
Speaking to Variety, the climber revealed that his next bucket-list achievement will be in training.
“It’s in a sport cave,” he said. “Tis overhanging little wall where I’ve been going to train for once, twice a week for the last two and a half months to get pumped. I’ve been trying to do one that’s hard for me, and I wasn’t able to do it before I left.”
“So now I’ll try to do it when I go home.”
(Corey Rich/Netflix)Ellie Muir25 January 2026 16:50Netflix viewers savage ‘awful’ commentary during Alex Honnold’s record-breaking free climb
Netflix viewers have eviscerated the “distracting” and “pointless” commentary delivered during the live stream of Alex Honnold’s record-breaking free climb of Taipei 101.
While nervous Skyscraper Live viewers watched the nail-biting stunt on Saturday night, they admitted to being distracted by the punditry delivered by its panel, made up of WWE star Seth Rollins, veteran sports anchor Elle Duncan and professional rock climber and mountaineer Emily Harrington.
The comments section under Netflix’s Instagram posts during the event was filled with pleas from viewers to “have the announcers be quiet” and “stop talking” as they couldn’t hear Honnold speaking into his in-ear headset during the climb, and added little professional insight.
Skyscraper Live viewers hit out at Netflix’s ‘awful’ commentary
Anchors ‘ruined’ the viewing experience by speaking over Honnold during his climb, said complaintsEllie Muir25 January 2026 16:19In pictures: The record-breaking climb
Alex Honnold free climbing Taipei 101 (Netflix)
Jaw-dropping views on ‘Skyscraper Live’ (Netflix)
Light work... (Chong kok-yew/Netflix)Ellie Muir25 January 2026 15:44Sweaty palms and stressed: Viewers share their reactions watching Honnold's mission
Netflix viewers have admitted to sweating buckets while watching the Skyscraper Live stream. By comparison, Honnold looked remarkably relaxed.
“Watching a guy free climb a building on Netflix. This guy looks like he’s out for a casual walk in the park and I’m on my couch sweating through my shirt,” wrote one viewer online.
“#SkyscrapperLive is the most nerve-racking thing I have ever watched. I can’t breathe. My heart is beating fast!” said another.
One stressed viewer added: “I can't take the tension of this. I am not breathing. I may faint. AND I'M NOT NEAR THIS BUILDING.”
Ellie Muir25 January 2026 14:30Newer1 / 9OlderMore about
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