Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, Film and TV, US News
Phoebe Tonks
Alex Honnold’s death-defying attempt to scale one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers without ropes or safety gear has been placed on hold by Netflix, over concerns about the event’s safety.
The seasoned climber was due to scale Taipei 101, the 1,667-foot, 101-story tower that dominates the skyline of Taiwan’s capital, on Friday evening (23 January), but just minutes before the special was due to start broadcasting on the streaming giant, the challenge was aborted due to wet weather conditions.
In a statement confirming that the event had been delayed 24 hours in the hopes that the bad weather would clear, Netflix said: “Due to weather, we are unable to proceed with today’s #SkyscraperLIVE event.
“It has been rescheduled for Saturday, January 24 at 8 PM ET | 5 PM PT. Safety remains our top priority, and we appreciate your understanding.”
Earlier this week,, Honnold revealed that the only thing that could possibly stand in the way of him achieving his highly anticipated climb is bad weather, and it appears his fears have sadly come true.
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While speaking to the New York Times, he was asked about the possibility of rescheduling to a different date, and responded: “If it’s not raining, I’m doing it.”
He was also asked about whether he had considered the possibility of needing to bail out of the event during the climb itself, to which he replied that ‘at any balcony I could just go inside and use the elevator’, he also said he hadn’t even considered what that would mean for his fee for undertaking the challenge.
“I actually don’t know what the contract is, and, honestly, I don’t care,” he said. “If I’m bailing for some reason, it’s because I need to bail, and then it doesn’t matter what a contract says.”
January had initially been chosen for the climb as it is at the heart of the dry season in Taiwan, the conditions in Taipei were simply too wet and overcast to undertake the challenge on Saturday morning (local time) as planned.
And as of now, the forecast looks much better for 24 hours, with AccuWeather reporting that tomorrow will be 'partly sunny and pleasant'.
Honnold first shot to fame in 2017 when he became the first person to 'free solo' a full route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, described as 'one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever' by the New York Times.
Free solo climbing is the riskiest of all.
As the name suggests, it involves climbing with only the use of the human body and chalk, with absolutely no ropes or protective gear to catch a fall - making any mistake potentially fatal.
Sharing the reason behind what had prompted the 40-year-old take on a challenge that makes most people feel sick just thinking about it, Alex told Tudum: "I first saw this building more than 10 years ago, and I’ve hoped to have the opportunity to climb it since then."
He added that it is 'rare' to get permission to climb such a building, and now he's allowed, he must 'take advantage'.