No ropes, no safety net, and no room for error. For freeclimber Alex Honnold, climbing 101 stories unassisted is just the latest passion project.
Honnold, 40, will make one of his most impressive climbs yet on Netflix for Skyscraper Live, a special streaming tonight, January 23, at 8 p.m. ET. Known for his dangerous ascents of massive rock formations without ropes or safety gear—most notably Yosemite’s El Capitan in the award-winning documentary Free Solo—Honnold will clamber his way up one of the tallest man-made structures in the world, the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan.
Before Honnold attempts his latest stunt on the global stage, here’s everything you need to know about his background and accomplishments.
Who is Alex Honnold?
Honnold, born August 17, 1985, in Sacramento, California, developed his passion for thrill-seeking in childhood. He frequently visited Yosemite and Joshua Tree National Parks, known as popular rock climbing destinations. “I grew up hearing stories of iconic climbers in the ’70s and ’80s doing outrageous solos, so I always thought that was cool to some extent and always thought I should try,” he told Self.
Not content with simply conquering large heights, Honnold began “free solo” climbing around age 20. This is an extreme version of the sport in which the climber has no ropes, harness, or equipment for protection. One slip could lead to significant injury—or worse.
“You have a much closer relationship with death, and everybody dies eventually in life. It’s more a matter of how you lead your life to get there I guess,” Honnold said in a video on his personal website.
Honnold’s daredevil hobby gained more attention in the 2018 documentary Free Solo, which chronicled his climb of the El Capitan granite rock formation at Yosemite. The movie won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
According to his website, Honnold lives in Las Vegas with his wife, Sanni McCandless, a life and transition coach and public speaker. The couple have two daughters, June and Alice.
What else has Alex Honnold climbed?
In addition to his El Capitan climb, which took just under four hours to complete, Honnold has scaled the Astroman, Rostrum, and Half Dome formations of Yosemite, as well as the Moonlight Buttress at Zion National Park in Utah.
Honnold was also the subject of the 2024 docuseries Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold. The show focused on his climb of Ingmikortilaq, a then-untraversed 3,750-foot rock wall rising from the icy waters of Greenland.
While Honnold has plenty of experience rock climbing, making his way up a man-made structure—such as Skyscraper Live’s Taipei 101—will pose a different challenge.
What is the Taipei 101 building?
The Taipei 101 building is located in the heart of the skyline of the Taiwanese capital city. It includes a five-story shopping mall at its base, the Taiwan stock exchange, several restaurants, and an observation deck, according to Skyscraper.org. The 101 is a reference to its total number of floors.
In October 2003, when the final piece of the spire wasput in place in Taipei 101 became the tallest building in the world at 1,667 feet. It has since been surpassed by 10 others, including what’s now considered the tallest: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai at 2,717 feet.
Honnold said he prioritized core and full-body workouts to account for the variation in climbing the glass, steel, and concrete structure. “I think the hardest part of the climb will be what we’re calling the bamboo boxes, which are eight segments in the middle of the building that are overhanging. Each one is eight floors, so it represents 64 floors in the middle of the building, and they’re all the same,” he told Netflix’s Tudum.
Watch Skyscraper Live on Netflix on Friday, January 23
Honnold, also an experienced ultramarathoner, previewed his climb with Tudum, saying he hopes to merely avoid injury and “comport myself with dignity.”
“I’m sure viewers will probably be on edge watching this,” he said. “I assume that most people will be sort of uncomfortable watching the whole thing. But I hope that viewers get a little bit of my joy from the experience—that they can appreciate the fun of it and the beauty of it, the scenery, just the whole experience.”
Skyscraper Live begins streaming Friday, January 23, at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix. The event is hosted by Elle Duncan and features a number of guest commentators, including WWE superstar Seth Rollins and professional climber Emily Harrington.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
