Rock-climber Alex Honnold climbed Taipei 101. A bone-chilling video went viral on social media. Alex used to climb the kitchen at 1. Here's all about his childhood, fMRI of his brain, and more!
Netflix left viewers on the edge of their seats as it livestreamed Alex Honnold's dangerous climb up one of the world's tallest buildings, Taipei 101. The building is 101 storeys tall, and Alex Honnold climbed it without ropes or a safety net, leaving his fans extremely tense about what could happen. Taipei 101 stands at 1,667 feet tall, and the way Alex Honnold made it to the top, his fans are now hailing him.
For the unversed, the event was first set to air on January 23, 2026, and it was due to the weather that it happened on January 24, 2026, with Alex making it to the top on January 25, 2026, at 8:28 a.m IST. A video now went viral on social media, and people are now in awe of Alex's skills as a rock climber. It was in 2017, when Alex Honnold grabbed the attention with his free-solo climb on EI-Captain at 3,000 feet.
While others have climbed Taipei 101, Alex's case is special as he had done it with no safety net or ropes. His climb was broadcast live on the streaming giant, Netflix, and glimpses are now going viral, with the rock-climber standing on the top of the Taipei 101, which has been recorded as one of the highest buildings in the world.
Watch the video here.
Alex Honnold's mom had an idea that he would be a climber when he was just 1 year old. Yes! As per the reports, when he was not even two, he started climbing kitchen appliances, and 30 years later, his years of hard work led him to climb 3,000-foot EI-Captain. He was born and brought up in Sacramento, California, and by the time he was 11, his town launched a rock-climbing gym, where he would spend hours.
Alex Honnold was extremely dedicated and had such a grasp over his skills that he could even climb walls being blindfolded, as per an interview shared by Medium. He was at UC Berkley, where he was taking an engineering degree, but he was not happy and left his college after his father suddenly died of a heart attack. His father had an unhappy marriage, and when he left for college, his parents got divorced. After one year of knowing his father's different side, he lost him due to a heart attack. Following this, Alex decided that he would dedicate his life to climbing, and that's where his journey began. He revealed that life isn't worth living if someone's not happy. He once said:
"I’m under no obligation. I do this strictly for my own satisfaction…. I’ve done routes where I’ve climbed 200 feet off the ground and just been, like, ‘what am I doing?’ I then just climbed back down and went home. Discretion is the better part of valor."
If the reports are to be believed, in 2016, Alex Honnold had his brain checked by the University of South Carolina. The test was conducted to see how his brain reacts to fear, or whether it works differently from other people's, as Alex often chooses to climb without ropes or safety gear. If a report by fMRI is to be believed, he has an underactive amygdala.
The amygdala is a key part of the brain that registers fear, and when there's any sign, it makes the body feel scared or stressed. In Alex's case, the test was to find out whether his amygdala is quieter or handled differently. After the test, cognitive neuroscientist Jane Joseph said that maybe his amygdala isn't firing, or that he has a well-honed regulatory system, and along with that, he also has a powerful frontal cortex that calms him down. Jane Joseph, back then, said:
"Maybe his amygdala is not firing—he’s having no internal reactions to these stimuli. But it could be the case that he has such a well-honed regulatory system that he can say, ‘OK, I’m feeling all this stuff, my amygdala is going off,’ but his frontal cortex is just so powerful that it can calm him down.”
What do you think about Alex Honnold climbing Taipei 101 successfully without ropes or safety gear?
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