Alex Honnold climbs ‘Skyscraper’ without any safety gear

On January 25, Honnold was live-streamed on Netflix as he free climbed a 101-floor skyscraper without any safety gear in Taiwan. A feat no one has achieved before.

Alex Honnold’s selfie from the top of Taipei 101 after his historic free solo. #SkyscraperLIVE pic.twitter.com/utODFAzzbX

— Netflix (@netflix) January 25, 2026

He is best known for his free solo climb of Yosemite National Park’s 3,000-ft granite wall. The documentary based on the climb, titled Free Solo (2018), had received an Academy Award.

This was a different ball game altogether. When it comes to rock walls, you get traction, holds and cracks to support and hold, but urban climbing is just glass, steel, and concrete. One plain structure. No strategy can be conjured once the ascent begins — and it was shown live.

Viewers held their breaths  until Honnold made his next move. Every finger movement, every pull up kept everyone biting their nails.

Taipei 101, a building that towers almost 1670-ft high, was scaled by him in almost an hour and a half. Watching a boxing or wrestling match on Netflix is one thing, but when someone scales a skyscraper without any safety gear on a live stream, it is nerve wracking, especially shots taken from the top were not for the faint of heart.

Every second of the climb was a mystery and it kept everyone glued to their screens till the end.

During his ascent, he was cheered on by fans on the streets. He even took out the time to wave at them and converse with the people at the studio. Using pinch hold, he was relying only on his fingertips and toes, while he pushed his body outwards. It was a strenuous technique especially on slabs of concrete, glass, and steel.

Mark Robber, an engineer and now a YouTuber, joined the event to share his scientific insights during the climb, while WWE superstar Seth Rollins was co-hosting the show alongside sports anchor Elle Duncan and professional mountaineer Emily Harrington.

Keeping aside the backlash that the live stream received for the hosts’ commentary, it did not affect the nail-biting ascent of the climber. Every second of the climb was a mystery and it kept everyone glued to their screens till the end.

No hands is crazy. @AlexHonnold #SkyscraperLIVE pic.twitter.com/twmCSX5nDS

— Netflix (@netflix) January 25, 2026

Netflix did a good job to weave in cutaway shots to lighten the mood by showing his training videos and conversations with his wife. It seemed to do a decent job in capturing the essence of how important the support of the family is to go out and free solo climb.

Honnold, who recently had his second child, would not achieve anything without the support from his wife and fellow climber Sanni McCandless Honnold. She was the one to greet him and join him in celebrations at the top of the tower after he completed his ascent.

Honnold’s ascent was straight out of a movie and it seemed as if Spiderman was in a Mission Impossible movie.

The climb, titled Skyscraper, is available now on Netflix