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'Spiderman' climbs skyscraper in Taiwan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-25 16:16
Taipei 101 is the
world's tallest building. [file photo/baidu] | A
French urban climber who calls himself Spiderman climbed to the top of the
world's tallest building on Saturday - Taipei 101.
Alain Robert, 42, took almost four hours to reach the top of the 1,679-foot
building. The climb took him nearly twice as long as he had expected, partly
because of dreary weather.
Although he's climbed many of the world's tallest structures without the
use of a rope, he climbed with one on Saturday, likely because of the wind and
rain.
He paused to rest every eighth floor and even chatted with the president
of Taipei 101 before tackling the final stretch.
As dark clouds drifted around the top, Robert climbed onto the roof with
a tired smile. "It was very wet ... and there was a strong wind," he said.
Robert has also scaled the Eiffel Tower and more than 30 skyscrapers
around the world, including New York's Empire State Building in 1994 and the
Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1997.
The Christmas Day climb opened a week of media events leading up to the
official inauguration of Taipei 101 on New Year's Eve. The building houses
office space and an observatory. A shopping mall at the base of the tower opened
last year.
The 101-story skyscraper is 184 feet taller than the previous
record-holder, the Petronas Towers. Taipei 101 also claims to have the highest
structural top, the tallest roof and the highest occupied floor.
It also has two of the world's fastest elevators, which travel 55 feet
per second and can go from the ground floor to the 89th in 39 seconds.
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