Alex Honnold, a 40- year- old rock climber and free soloist has successfully completed his free solo summit of the Taipei 101 skyscraper on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026 in Taipei, Taiwan. 

He completed the climb of the 1,667 ft. tower in one hour and 31 minutes. His ascent was live streamed on Netflix.

For over a decade now Honnold has been dreaming of climbing this skyscraper and with about 3 months of intense training, he did. Honnold is a father of two and part of doing this climb was to motivate them, plus others, to follow their dreams. 

Honnold is an experienced climber who has performed countless free solos; his most famous being El Capitan, a 3,000 ft. granite rock face located in Yosemite National Park, California. The climb was filmed as a groundbreaking documentary by National Geographic called “Free Solo” and became an Academy Award Winner. 

Taipei 101 is unlike anything Honnold has ever climbed. Climbing this skyscraper came with its challenges: weather conditions, the building structure, mental and physical exhaustion, etc.  

Owner of Frederick’s only climbing gym The Boulder Yard, Steve Baranski said, “As an experienced climber and a dad I was like ‘oh that makes sense’ because compared to the other stuff he’s done this was nothing. This was like a warm up.”

Even after the challenges he faced and the fact that he had so much to lose, he made it to the top. Honnold’s solo of Taipei 101 boosted his fame and helped inspire many people and climbers from all around the world. 

“The sport wouldn’t be what it is without Alex Honnold […] he has made this a possible livelihood to raise a family off of because of his influence…and doing things like this,” Baranski said.

The sport of climbing has evolved into more than just a sport, but a way of life. Without Honnold and others like him doing these inspiring climbs, the world would not know the sport as it is today. With his help, the climbing community has grown into something incredible and will continue to grow as it remains to make history.