Rock climber Alex Honnold has scaled Taiwan’s 1,667-foot Taipei 101 skyscraper. Thousands of people, who had lined the streets around Taipei 101 to watch, went wild in celebration when the 40-year-old reached the summit. What made Honnold’s climb unique and dangerous was the fact that he used no safety gear at all, choosing instead to climb free-style. Known for his ascent up Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan, Honnold climbed up one corner of Taipei 101 using small L-shaped outcroppings as footholds. Periodically, he had to maneuver around and climb up the sides of large ornamental structures that jut out from the tower, pulling himself up with his bare hands. The building has 101 floors, with the hardest part being the 64 floors of the middle section. Divided into eight, each segment has eight floors of steep, overhanging climbing followed by balconies, where he took short rests as he made his way upward. Honnold, who had been training for months, previously said he didn't think the climb would be that hard. As it turned out, he said it was hard enough to be engaging and “for me an obviously interesting climb.”
