Live updates: Alex Honnold to Free Solo Taipei 101 on Netflix

Honnold, the famously rope-free climber and star of the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, is attempting a first-of-its-kind ascent of the 1,667-foot, 101-story skyscraper without ropes, harnesses or a safety net. The live Netflix event, titled Skyscraper Live, was delayed one day from its original Jan. 23 start because of rain, with organizers citing safety concerns related to slick conditions.

If completed, the climb would mark the first true free solo of Taipei 101. French urban climber Alain Robert, known as the “French Spider-Man,” scaled the building in 2004, but did so using a rope at the request of Taiwanese authorities.

The route Honnold plans to climb is broken into three sections, with the middle portion posing the greatest challenge. The building’s distinctive bamboo-inspired design creates repeated overhangs — some estimated at 10 to 15 degrees — over roughly 64 floors. “Buildings are steeper than most rock faces,” Honnold told Netflix’s Tudum. “Rock that looks vertical usually isn’t — buildings are.”

Honnold is no stranger to redefining what is possible. In 2017, he became the first person to free-solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, climbing nearly 3,000 feet of sheer granite without protection. He has also completed the Yosemite Triple Crown in a single push and free-soloed Moonlight Buttress in Zion.

Streaming such a high-risk ascent live is unprecedented. Whether Honnold tops out or turns back, history will be made and viewers everywhere will be watching.