Taipei, Taiwan — On Jan. 24, Alex Honnold, born and raised in Sacramento, California, took on his latest solo climb, Taipei 101, a premier financial center standing at 1667 feet tall and formally held the title for the world’s tallest building. Located in the city of Taipei in Taiwan, it is known for its bamboo inspired and earthquake resistant architecture.  

Alex Honnold is known for his daring climbs, including one documented in the Oscar winning Netflix documentary “Free Solo” where he climbed the 3,000-foot mountain El Captain without ropes or a harness. 

“This is a very rare opportunity for marketing Taipei, and one that may not come again,” said Jennifer Jao, who helped coordinate the event for the Washington Post.

Netflix livestreamed Honnold’s descent up the structure in the television special “Skyscraper Live.” 

The climb was originally intended to take place on Friday Jan. 23, but was delayed because of high winds. Weather conditions were monitored by meteorologists throughout Honnold’s climb as a storm was near Taipei, but wasn’t expected to reach the city during the climb. If it proved to be too dangerous at any point, Honnold would be informed through an ear piece to cease his climb. 

Taipei was an especially challenging city to attempt the climb in because of its location on the “ring of fire,” an area known for its earthquakes, with seismic activity having the potential to shake Honnold off the building.

“I can’t believe someone would want to do that,” said Elena Predolin, a junior at Los Alamitos High School, “No amount of money would make me want to climb that.”

This climb and many of Honnold’s other adventures have begged the question for millions across the world “why would someone do this?” While, it was revealed in an fMRI that Honnold’s amygdala, the part of the brain that senses danger, is less likely to react when shown images that evoke fear. However, other participants who were also male rock climbers of a similar age reacted. Honnold’s brain also showed signs that he is a high-sensation seeker making high risk climbs additionally rewarding.

“I was excited to watch it,” said LAHS junior Giselle Alonso, “I thought he would be safe, he’s climbed a lot of other places before.”

The event was hosted by sports anchor Elle Duncan who provided commentary alongside Emily Harrington, a professional climber and Seth Rollins, a World Wrestling Entertainment athlete. The event also included commentary from Mark Rober, a former NASA engineer turned YouTuber who provided facts about the tower and weather conditions.

Later, another design had to be climbed, the dragon. The dragons are placed across Taipei 101 as a symbol of protection but they provide barely any space for Honnold to climb onto.

During the climb, he paused to take breaks, wiping off residue grease on his shoes and hands from years of firework shows around the tower. 

Honnold was also met by onlookers on his climb. Primarily, Taiwanese citizens taking a break from work who came over to the windows he was climbing and waved to him, holding up signs with some even posing to take selfies with him. One of these guests included his wife who came up half way through his climb to motivate him.

In total, it took Honnold about 90 minutes to reach the top of the 101-story building where he paused to take a selfie before putting on a harness and repealing to a lower level where he met his wife and then took an elevator to ascend. 

Although there were several moments where Honnold spiked fear in onlookers, his months of training paid off as he seemingly managed to climb the building effortlessly.