French Spidey Tops Tallest

TAIPEI, Taiwan (Reuters) – Daredevil climber Alain Robert, known as the French Spiderman, defied stiff winds and rain to climb the world’s tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101, in the Taiwan capital Saturday.

Robert, dressed in a red rain jacket, tights and climbing shoes, shimmied up ropes hung down the sides of the 101-story, 1,667-foot office tower, reaching the top in around four hours.

The 42-year-old Frenchman has scaled scores of well-known structures around the world including the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower — often without permission or any safety equipment or ropes.

This time Robert was wearing a harness attached to safety ropes for the entire climb. He used the ropes to pull himself up most of the way, using his hands and feet to climb up the walls for only short sections.

“Everybody knows me throughout the world for my ascents climbing free solo without using safety devices, just with my bare hands, but this time the game was a bit different,” Robert said.

He said the management had requested he wear the ropes and safety equipment, which had also become necessary due to rain making the windows and frames very slippery.

from Reuters