“It should be within my comfort zone,” Alex Honnold said on a recent edition of The Jay Shetty Podcast. “So it’s not so much about ‘what if I die?'” The 40-year-old American, one of the world’s leading rock climbers, plans to free solo the facade of Taipei 101 on Saturday morning (January 24), local time — climbing alone and without safety equipment, weather permitting.
Netflix intends to broadcast the ascent live. In the trailer, Honnold reflects on fear: “I think I’ve gotten used to fear over the years. It’s an ever-present part of climbing.” He adds bluntly, “No matter how much you prepare, occasionally things just happen. If you fall, you’re gonna die.”
Some critics say the live broadcast crosses ethical lines. Claudia Paganini, a media ethics scholar at the University of Innsbruck, told DW the event exploits “voyeuristic dynamics” and moves the media from documenting to co-producing a spectacle. She argued the broadcast deliberately uses life-threatening risk to boost attention and revenue, shifting responsibility from the athlete to the media outlet. Paganini also warned the live transmission could normalize dangerous behavior and inspire imitation, raising concerns for child and youth protection.
Honnold’s history includes some of climbing’s most famous feats. In 2017 he became the first person to free solo the 900-meter El Capitan “Freerider” route in Yosemite, completing it in about four hours; that achievement was the subject of the Oscar-winning 2019 documentary Free Solo, which presented a completed, safe-ending climb. Unlike that film, a live stream offers no editorial distance and no certainty the climb will end well.
Many in the climbing community are not especially excited about the Taipei 101 stunt. Alexander Huber told DW the ascent “won’t provide any new insights into climbing,” and so is not particularly relevant to climbers, though Honnold is entitled to do it. Since El Capitan, Honnold has become one of the sport’s top earners and directs a third of his income into the Honnold Foundation, which funds private solar energy projects worldwide. Netflix’s payment to Honnold for this event has not been disclosed.
Taipei 101, completed in 2004 and standing 508 meters tall, is built in stacked segments that resemble a pagoda: eight identically shaped overhanging blocks rise above a trapezoidal base, with a narrower top section and antenna. Its facade is mostly glass and aluminum. French climber Alain Robert — the “French Spiderman” — climbed the building in 2004 with a rope secured from above as part of a government-promoted stunt; Robert has scaled around 200 building facades in his career, usually free solo, and has been arrested many times for unsanctioned climbs. Robert has said staying focused and repeating the same moves while resting on the ledges between the blocks are key; he predicted Honnold will manage the climb “very easily.”
Live-streamed climbing carries real risks for viewers if something goes wrong. Last October, 23-year-old Balin Miller fell to his death on El Capitan due to an error while rappelling during a live stream; many who watched later described the experience as traumatic. Paganini emphasized that live coverage removes opportunities to review, contextualize, or protect audiences and the bereaved if an accident occurs.
Honnold, married with two young daughters, started climbing young and says risk management has always been central to his approach. He maintains that parenthood did not change his attitude toward the sport. Asked about his broader inspiration, he said he envisions “dying at 80 with grandkids around me.”
This article was originally published in German.
Edited by: Jonathan Harding