Alex Honnold Scales Taipei 101

Written by: Sitara Nair

One of the greatest free solo climbers of our time, Alex Honnold, just scaled the entire Taipei 101 skyscraper live on Netflix’s Skyscraper Live. This incredible feat left audiences at the edge of their seats, nervous if he was going to make it to the top of the Taiwanese 1,667-foot-tall building successfully. Let’s learn about Alex, the Netflix stream, as well as a little history about Taipei 101.

Alex Honnold and the Taipei 101

Alex Honnold is a professional rock climber known for his incredible free-solo climbs and efforts to conserve the environment. Apart from his recent success scaling the Taipei 101 (which we will get to soon), he also made the daring El Capitan climb. In Yosemite National Park, there is a 3,000-foot granite monolith called El Capitan, and in 2017 Alex Honnold became the first to free solo the mountain, taking the "Freerider" route without ropes or protective equipment. His climb took a total of 3 hours and 56 minutes, and later in 2018, Honnold starred in a documentary about his El Capitan climb, winning an Academy Award. Now, recently, Honnold successfully free soloed the 101-story skyscraper, a major urban climbing feat. Taipei 101 is a 101-story, 508-meter (1,667 ft) skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. It is renowned as the world's first building to surpass half a kilometer in height. Completed in 2004, it held the title of the world's tallest building until 2010 and continues to stand as a symbol of Taiwan’s economic success. 

Besides his achievements in climbing, Honnold is truly committed to caring for our planet. He founded the Honnold Foundation, a wonderful non-profit dedicated to expanding solar energy access around the world. The foundation offers grants, training, and storytelling resources to local, community-led groups, especially supporting projects that help reduce environmental impact and make life better for everyone.

The Skyscraper Live Aspect

What made Skyscraper Live so intense was that Alex Honnold’s climb was shown live on Netflix. The event aired at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET), meaning viewers around the world were watching in real time as Honnold climbed the 1,667-foot Taipei 101 skyscraper without ropes or safety equipment. Because the climb was live, there was no editing and no way to know for sure if he would reach the top, which made the experience more stressful and exciting for viewers.

The live broadcast attracted a large audience. By the end of Sunday, the climb had reached 6.2 million views on Netflix, placing it at No. 3 on the platform’s weekly English TV rankings. This was a strong result for a one-time live event and showed that many people were interested in watching a real-life challenge instead of a scripted television show. While the climb did not reach the viewership numbers of major sports events like football games, it performed better than some other live programs on Netflix, including a recent professional boxing match.

Throughout the broadcast, commentators explained what Honnold was doing and why the climb was so difficult. They talked about the design of Taipei 101, the weather conditions, and the mental focus needed for free solo climbing. This helped viewers who were not familiar with climbing understand the risks and skill involved. The climb also set a world record, becoming the tallest urban free solo climb ever completed.

Overall, Skyscraper Live turned Alex Honnold’s climb into a global event. The combination of live streaming, real danger, and a large audience made the climb feel important and memorable. It showed how live television can capture real human achievements and keep viewers engaged from start to finish.