A US ROCK CLIMBER has become the first person to scale Taiwan’s tallest building without a rope, harness or safety net. 

Cheers erupted from hundreds of spectators that had gathered on the street below Taipei – named for its 101 floors – as Alex Honnold reached the top of the spire of the 508 metre (1,667ft) tower about 90 minutes after he started.

Wearing a red short-sleeve shirt, Honnold waved his arms back and forth over his head.

“It was like what a view, it’s incredible, what a beautiful day,” he said afterwards.

“It was very windy, so I was like, don’t fall off the spire. I was trying to balance nicely. But it was, what an incredible position, what a beautiful way to see Taipei.”

Honnold raises his fist as he climbs on top of the Taipei 101 skyscraper.

Honnold, known for his ropeless ascent up Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan, climbed up one corner of Taipei 101 using small L-shaped outcroppings as footholds.

Periodically, he had to manoeuvre around and clamber up the sides of large ornamental structures that jut out from the tower, pulling himself up with his bare hands.

The hardest part of the climb was the 64 floors of the middle section – the “bamboo boxes” that give the building its signature look. Divided into eight, each segment has eight floors of steep, overhanging climbing followed by balconies, where he took short rests as he made his way upward.

Honnold’s free solo climb of the iconic building in Taiwan’s capital city was broadcast live on Netflix with a 10-second delay. The ascent, originally scheduled for yesterday, was delayed for 24 hours due to rain.

Having a cheering crowd was unusual and a bit unnerving at first for Honnold, whose climbs are usually in remote areas.

A fan of rock climber Alex Honnold holding up a poster. PA PA

“When I was leaving the ground, you’re like ‘oh it’s kind of intense, there’s so many people watching’,” he said.

“But then honestly, they’re all wishing me well. I mean basically it just makes the whole experience feel almost more festive, all these nice people are out supporting me and having a good time.”

The climb drew both excitement and concern over the ethical implications of attempting such a high-risk endeavour on live broadcast.

Honnold is not the first climber to ascend Taipei 101 but he is the first to do so without a rope.

French rock climber Alain Robert, dubbed “the French Spiderman”, scaled the building on Christmas Day in 2004 as part of the grand opening of what was then the world’s tallest building. He used safety ropes because of the rainy conditions.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te congratulated Honnold in a Facebook post today, branding the challenge “truly moving”.

“The climb was tense, setting hearts racing,” he added in the post.

Taipei 101 chairwoman Janet Chia said on Threads that it was touching to hear that fans had travelled from Singapore, Hong Kong and southern Taiwan to watch the climb and apologised for the delay in the event.

With reporting from Press Association