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Live updates: Alex Honnold to Free Solo Taipei 101 on Netflix

January 25, 2026
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Alex Honnold

Live updates: Alex Honnold to Free Solo Taipei 101 on Netflix originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Welcome to our coverage of Alex Honnold’s Free Solo climb of Taipei 101. He will be scaling the building without ropes or safety gear. 

Honnold is expected to begin his climb at 8 p.m. ET live on Netflix. The event was originally scheduled to take place yesterday, but was postponed to Saturday due to bad weather.

We’ll bring you the latest on his progress in real time Please stay tuned for updates (All times eastern). 

8:37 p.m. 

Honnold is at the 26-minute mark of his climb. He’s mid-way through the second part of Taipei 101 and the second “Dragon.” 

8:31 p.m. 

The internet is starting to react to Honnold’s climb up Taipei 101: 

8:28 p.m. 

Honnold is approaching the first “Dragon” of Taipei 101, which will be challenging considering the shape and size. He’s at the 16-minute mark. 

8:20 p.m. 

Honnold is moving his way up Taipei 101 with ease. He’s past the base of the building and moving towards the second of 11 sections. 

8:12 p.m. 

Honnold takes his first steps onto Taipei 101 and he’s headed up the side of the building. 

8:10 p.m. 

Honnold says goodbye to his wife, Sanni, walks to the base of Taipei 101 and starts to put on his shoes. He’s minutes away from the start of the climb. 

8:05 p.m.

8:00 p.m.

7:58 p.m. 

Alex Honnold has not yet completed a free-solo climb of Taipei 101 — and no one ever has

Honnold, the famously rope-free climber and star of the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, is attempting a first-of-its-kind ascent of the 1,667-foot, 101-story skyscraper without ropes, harnesses or a safety net. The live Netflix event, titled Skyscraper Live, was delayed one day from its original Jan. 23 start because of rain, with organizers citing safety concerns related to slick conditions.

If completed, the climb would mark the first true free solo of Taipei 101. French urban climber Alain Robert, known as the “French Spider-Man,” scaled the building in 2004, but did so using a rope at the request of Taiwanese authorities.

The route Honnold plans to climb is broken into three sections, with the middle portion posing the greatest challenge. The building’s distinctive bamboo-inspired design creates repeated overhangs — some estimated at 10 to 15 degrees — over roughly 64 floors. “Buildings are steeper than most rock faces,” Honnold told Netflix’s Tudum. “Rock that looks vertical usually isn’t — buildings are.”

Honnold is no stranger to redefining what is possible. In 2017, he became the first person to free-solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, climbing nearly 3,000 feet of sheer granite without protection. He has also completed the Yosemite Triple Crown in a single push and free-soloed Moonlight Buttress in Zion.

Streaming such a high-risk ascent live is unprecedented. Whether Honnold tops out or turns back, history will be made and viewers everywhere will be watching. 

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