Daredevil climber Alex Honnold has revealed he was paid an ’embarrassingly small’ fee for his death-defying ascent up a 101-storey tower in Taiwan.
The 40-year-old American successfully scaled the 1,667 feet Taipei 101 skyscraper – formerly the world’s tallest building – on Sunday morning without any ropes.
His nerve-shredding stunt was broadcast live by Netflix, although the feed was on a 10-second delay in case tragedy struck.
Cheers erupted from a street-level crowd as Honnold reached the top of the spire of the tower about 90 minutes after he started. Wearing a red short-sleeve shirt, he waved his arms back and forth over his head and took selfies.
But, according to The New York Times, Honnold only received a ‘mid six-figure sum’ for agreeing to take part.
Although he did admit he would have done it for free if Taipei 101 was willing to give him permission to do the climb without Netflix’s involvement.
Alex Honnold has revealed he got an ’embarrassingly small’ fee for his death-defying ascent
Honnold only received a ‘mid six-figure sum’ for doing the stunt without ropes live on Netflix
He did admit, however, he would have done it for free if Taipei 101 had given him permission
‘If there was no TV program and the building gave me permission to go do the thing, I would do the thing because I know I can, and it’d be amazing,’ he said.
Honnold, known for his ropeless ascent up Yosemite National Park´s El Capitan, climbed up one corner of Taipei 101 using small L-shaped outcroppings as footholds.
Periodically, he had to maneuver around and clamber 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 – the ‘bamboo boxes’ that give the building its signature look.
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.
‘It was like what a view, it´s incredible, what a beautiful day,’ he said afterward. ‘It was very windy, so I was like, don´t fall off the spire. I was trying to balance nicely. But it was, what an incredible position, what a beautiful way to see Taipei.’
Having a cheering crowd was unusual and a bit unnerving at first for Honnold, whose climbs are usually in remote areas.
‘When I was leaving the ground, you’re like oh it´s kind of intense, there´s so many people watching,’ he said.
‘But then honestly, they´re all wishing me well. I mean basically it just makes the whole experience feel almost more festive, all these nice people are out supporting me and having a good time.’
The much-anticipated event caused excitement across the globe but led to some fans questioning the 40-year-old’s motive, given he is a married father of two girls.
Honnold and wife Sanni finally relaxed as they addressed the media after he returned to ground
Critics of Honnold asked why he would risk his life with two young daughters: June and Alice
Honnold is not be the first climber to ascend the skyscraper but is the first to do so without a rope.
French rock climber Alain Robert scaled the building on Christmas Day in 2004, as part of the grand opening of what was then the world’s tallest building.
He took nearly four hours to finish, almost twice as long as what he anticipated, while nursing an injured elbow and battered by wind and rain.
Honnold, who had been training for months, previously said he did not think the climb would be hard.
He said he had practiced the moves on the building. Speaking on a climbing podcast, he added: ‘I don’t think it’ll be that extreme.
‘We’ll see. I think it’s the perfect sweet spot where it’s hard enough to be engaging for me and obviously an interesting climb.’
