Why did Alex Honnold choose Taipei 101 for his free solo climb?

Alex Honnold chose Taipei 101 for its excellent design for climbing, featuring rest platforms and good handholds, as well as its significant beauty.

How was Alex Honnold able to get permission to climb Taipei 101?

Securing permission involved lengthy negotiations with the Taipei Financial Center Corporation and the Taipei government, facilitated by the chairwoman's entertainment background and Netflix's involvement.

Is Alex Honnold's Taipei 101 climb just a spectacle?

Producer Grant Mansfield stated that Honnold's motivation goes beyond spectacle, emphasizing the climber's desire to perform the feat for its own sake.

Home / Sports / Honnold Scales Taipei 101: Netflix's High-Wire Act

Honnold Scales Taipei 101: Netflix's High-Wire Act

24 Jan

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Summary

Alex Honnold's Taipei 101 free solo climb set for Netflix broadcast.
The climb required extensive negotiations for legal permission.
Honnold chose Taipei 101 for its climbing design and beauty.

Honnold Scales Taipei 101: Netflix's High-Wire Act

Veteran TV producer Grant Mansfield shared insights into Alex Honnold's upcoming free solo ascent of the Taipei 101 skyscraper, produced by Plimsoll Productions for Netflix. Mansfield clarified that criticism of the event as mere spectacle misses Honnold's intrinsic motivation, noting the climber would perform the feat even without an audience.

Securing permission for the climb, scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m. ET (delayed one day due to rain), involved lengthy negotiations. Honnold had sought to climb Taipei 101 since at least 2013. Mansfield highlighted the difficulty of obtaining legal access to public landmarks, necessitating a production company and a major network.

The breakthrough came with Janet Chia's appointment as chairwoman of the Taipei Financial Center Corporation in 2024. Her entertainment background facilitated the Netflix-backed proposal, eventually gaining approval from the Taipei government after six months of discussions.