Alex Honnold is no stranger to heart-stopping free solo climbs — but his latest challenge may be his most unusual yet.
Tonight, beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix, viewers around the world can watch the professional rock climber attempt to scale one of the tallest skyscrapers on Earth, entirely without ropes or safety gear.
In Skyscraper Live, Honnold, 40, will take on Taipei 101, the 1,667-foot, 101-story tower that dominates the skyline of Taiwan’s capital.
Built in 2004, the tower features mostly glass curtain walls, with balconies near the top that taper to a pointed peak. It was once the world’s tallest building until the construction of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in 2010.
Honnold is known for his record-breaking ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in 2017, which was captured in the Oscar-winning documentary, Free Solo.
He has noted that Taipei 101 was previously climbed by French urban climber Alain Robert — but with ropes. Honnold believes that reaching the top unaided would make it “the biggest urban free solo ever.”
Follow along below for live updates on the climb
Honnold reveals ’embarrassingly small’ pay day
How much money would it take to convince you to climb a skyscraper without safety equipment?
Alex Honnold would have done it for free, which seems to have put him at a disadvantage when negotiating with Netflix.
More details of his “embarassingly small” pay day here:
Kevin Perry23 January 2026 20:14
Honnold says he hopes his climb will spread ‘childlike joy’
Asked by The New York Times what he hopes viewers will take away from watching his daredevil feat, Honnold responded: “When there were some announcements about climbing the building, there was some criticism in the climbing world of like, Oh, you know, that’s stupid, that’s a stunt. But my hope is that people watching it will at least see the joy in it.
“Like when you’re a kid and look around and think, It’d be amazing to climb up there. As an adult, that gets hammered out of you. ‘Why would you do that? That’s dangerous. Do you have insurance?’ You know, all that type of stuff. But there’s something to be said for maintaining that childlike joy of just looking at it, like, That is amazing. I want to do that.”
Kevin Perry23 January 2026 19:50
Honnold explains what would happen if he falls
Speaking to CNN ahead of his daring climb, Honnold confirmed that were he to fall, it would likely be fatal – but qualified this fear due to the shape of the building.
“If something happens, I would die, though actually, on this particular building, that’s not even totally true because there are balconies every few floors,” he said of the 101-storied building. “The geometry of the building, the shape of the building is such that you actually could fall in tons of places and not actually die, which makes it in some ways safer than a lot of rock-climbing objectives.”
Kevin Perry23 January 2026 18:54
Alex Honnold will attempt to free solo climb Taipai 101 live tonight on Netflix
You may know Alex Honnold from the sensational Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, where the climber completes a lifelong dream to scale the famous El Capitan in Yosemite, California.
But tonight, he is returning to screens with one of his most dangerous and daring climbs ever: Taipei 101.
Follow along with our coverage.
Inga Parkel23 January 2026 18:29
