Sacramento’s Alex Honnold to free solo one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers in Taipei
SCHEDULED TO RETURN TO MEDIATION TODAY. HAPPENING TODAY, PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD ARE GOING TO BE WATCHING AS SACRAMENTO NATIVE TRY TO DO SOMETHING THAT NO ONE HAS DONE BEFORE. SO ALEX HONNOLD, KNOWN FOR BREAKING CLIMBING RECORDS IN YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, WILL BE ATTEMPTING TO CLIMB THE WORLD’S LARGEST SKYSCRAPER IN TAIPEI WITHOUT ANY ROPES, AND IT WILL ALL BE STREAMED LIVE ON NETFLIX. KCRA 3’S ERIN HEFT. JOINING US LIVE FROM A SACRAMENTO CLIMBING GYM GYM WHERE APPARENTLY EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, ALEX SHOWS UP. I MEAN, THIS IS LIKE FREE SOLO TOO. IF YOU’RE INTO THE FIRST ONE. THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT. BUT THIS ONE I JUST WATCHED THE PREVIEW 101 STORIES OVER 1600 FEET. SO IF YOU HAVE VERTIGO OR A FEAR OF HEIGHTS, THIS MAN’S STORY MIGHT MAKE YOU CURL YOUR TOES. SO LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT ALEX HONNOLD IS CAPABLE OF. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS WHAT HE’S KNOWN FOR AND MADE HIMSELF A NAME. HE’S THE ONLY PERSON ON RECORD TO EVER FREE SOLO YOSEMITE’S 3000 FOOT ROCK MONOLITH, EL CAPITAN, USING NO ROPES AND CLIMBING COMPLETELY ALONE THAT CLIMB BACK IN 2017 LANDED HIM FRONT AND CENTER IN AN OSCAR AWARD WINNING DOCUMENTARY TITLED FREE SOLO, AND HIS CLIMBING CAREER HAS ONLY SKYROCKETED FROM THERE, WITH SPEED RECORDS AND FAMOUS 24 HOUR TRIPLE SOLO CLIMBS. BUT THAT BRINGS ME TO TONIGHT, WHERE HONNOLD WILL ONCE AGAIN BE FRONT AND CENTER, THIS TIME IN FRONT OF A GLOBAL AUDIENCE ATTEMPTING TO CLIMB THE WORLD’S LARGEST SKYSCRAPER IN TAIPEI. ANOTHER FREE SOLO CLIMB, AND THAT WILL BE STREAMED LIVE ON NETFLIX, BASICALLY PROVING TO THE WORLD AND HIMSELF THAT HE LIVES BEYOND LIMITS. HE’S LEFT A LEGACY HERE IN THE REGION, SPECIFICALLY NATIVE OF SACRAMENTO, AND THEN MAKING THOSE INCREDIBLE RECORDS IN YOSEMITE AND ALSO QUITE A LEGACY HERE AT PIPEWORKS. BUT THAT IS ONLY WIVES TALES. I NEED TO CONFIRM ALL OF THAT. SO WARM. MORE ON THAT IN LATER SHOWS, BUT IT’S NOT TO MISS LATER TONIGHT ON NETFLIX. MY GOODNESS, 101 STORIES OVER 1600 FEET. NO ROPES. BASICALLY WITH YOUR HANDS. CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT? NOT TO YOU GUYS, BUT IT IS DEFINITELY GOING TO BE WATCHING. CHECK IT OUT. THE NETFLIX LIVE STREAM IS CALLED SKYSCRAPER LIVE, AND IT’S GOING TO BE STARTING AT 5:00 TONIGHT. ALEX’S MOM, BY THE WAY, HOLDS A RECORD AS WELL, FOLLOWING IN HER SON’S FOOTSTEPS AT THE AGE OF 66, SHE MADE HISTORY AS THE OLDEST WOMAN ON RECORD TO CLIMB EL CAPITAN. SHE BROKE HER OWN RECORD, THEN AGAIN AT THE AGE OF 70. WOW. YEAH. WOW. THEY’RE INCREDIBLE THOUGH. I MEAN, HEY, YOU CAN IT SHOWS YOU CAN DO ANYTHING THAT YOU PUT YOUR MIND.
Sacramento’s Alex Honnold to free solo one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers in Taipei
Updated: 10:50 AM PST Jan 23, 2026
Alex Honnold, renowned for his record-breaking free solo climb of Yosemite’s El Capitan, will attempt to climb one of the world’s tallest skyscraper in Taipei without ropes. The event is being streamed live on Netflix.Honnold, who grew up in Sacramento, is the only person on record to have free soloed the 3,000-foot rock monolith, El Capitan, a feat that was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo” in 2017. His climbing career has since skyrocketed with speed records and famous 24-hour triple-solo climbs.On Friday night, Honnold will be front and center again, attempting another free solo climb in front of a global audience.Honnold now lives in Las Vegas with his wife and two daughters.The Netflix livestream, called “Skyscraper Live,” will begin at 5 p.m. Honnold’s mother also holds a record, having made history as the oldest woman to climb El Capitan at age 66, and she broke her own record at 70. KCRA’s Deirdre Fitzpatrick interviewed her in 2019 for the Dying to Ask podcast.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channelCorrection: This story has been updated to reflect that the climb will be on one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, not the tallest.
Alex Honnold, renowned for his record-breaking free solo climb of Yosemite’s El Capitan, will attempt to climb one of the world’s tallest skyscraper in Taipei without ropes.
The event is being streamed live on Netflix.
Honnold, who grew up in Sacramento, is the only person on record to have free soloed the 3,000-foot rock monolith, El Capitan, a feat that was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo” in 2017. His climbing career has since skyrocketed with speed records and famous 24-hour triple-solo climbs.
On Friday night, Honnold will be front and center again, attempting another free solo climb in front of a global audience.
Honnold now lives in Las Vegas with his wife and two daughters.
The Netflix livestream, called “Skyscraper Live,” will begin at 5 p.m.
Honnold’s mother also holds a record, having made history as the oldest woman to climb El Capitan at age 66, and she broke her own record at 70.
KCRA’s Deirdre Fitzpatrick interviewed her in 2019 for the Dying to Ask podcast.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the climb will be on one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, not the tallest.