What is Skyscraper Live on Netflix? Explaining Alex Honnold's attempt to free solo one of world's tallest buildings

Alex Honnold is attempting his most dangerous climb to date.

The "Free Solo" star is set to climb the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan without a harness, a stunt that Netflix will air live on its streaming service. Honnold is usually a rock climber but has been trying to get permission to climb this specific building for more than a decade.

Fans will surely tune in to Honnold's climb to see if he can pull off such a daring stunt, but the danger involved will hover over the entire event. Here are all the details about Honnold's climb.

What is Skyscraper Live?

Skyscraper Live is an event that will feature rock climber Alex Honnold climbing the Taipei 101 skyscraper, one of the tallest buildings in the world, without a harness. Honnold is best known as the star of "Free Solo," a documentary that focused on his attempt to climb the El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park without a harness.

When is Skyscraper Live?

• Date: Friday, January 23
• Time: 8:00 p.m. ET

Alex Honnold will climb Taipei 101 in Taiwan at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 24th in Taiwan, which converts to Friday, January 23 at 8:00 p.m. ET in the United States and Canada.

How to watch Skyscraper Live on Netflix

Netflix will be live-streaming Alex Honnold's attempt to free solo climb Taipei 101 live. However, the broadcast will come with a 10-second delay, allowing behind-the-scenes a chance to see what happens right before it gets aired.

Part of the reason Netflix is the choice to broadcast this may be due to Honnold's desire to climb the building without a harness. In 2012, Nik Wallenda walked across the Niagara Gorge, but ABC required him to wear a harness in order for the network to broadcast the event.

Honnold would not be able to climb this skyscraper unless a network like Netflix was willing to broadcast it.

"I can't get permission to climb a building unless it's some kind of event and some kind of show, and there aren't that many networks who are willing to take on a project like this," Honnold said. "So it's a perfect partnership."

Why is Alex Honnold climbing Taipei 101?

Honnold is a professional rock climber taking on Taipei 101 as his next challenge, largely because the building has a rare structure.

"Why not? Taipei 101 because it’s amazing and it’s an incredible building," Honnold said. "It’s possible, which a lot of skyscrapers aren’t — it’s uniquely suited for climbing."

Honnold has been trying to climb Taipei 101 for the past 13 years, but he kept getting denied access to to safety concerns. Finally, Jennifer Jao, the director of the Taipei Film Commission, approved Honnold's request after Honnold wrote a letter that also included a commitment to safety and his twin daughters.

In order for Honnold to climb the building, the Taipei Film Commission spent six months preparing for the ascent to make sure everything was up to par.

Honnold is excited for the rare chance to climb such a tall building.

"Now, because it’s really hard to get permission to climb a building --  and I have permission -- I have to take advantage of it and climb the building," he said. "Basically, it’s just rare to get this kind of opportunity, so you gotta jump when you can."

Honnold added that a specific part of the building called the "bamboo boxes" will be the most difficult part of the climb.

"Each one is eight floors, so it represents 64 floors in the middle of the building, and they’re all the same," he said. "They overhang, I don’t know, 10 or 15 degrees — it’s kind of steep — and then there's a balcony every eight floors. In a lot of ways, it actually feels like a climbing pitch, which is the way climbers differentiate segments of a climb."

Is Alex Honnold wearing a harness?

Honnold is not wearing a harness, instead opting to climb the building "free solo" and making it one of the most dangerous climbing attempts ever. Honnold is known for his ability to climb without a rope, and he is confident in his talents.

Honnold claims that free soloing the building is more tiring, but also less complicated, which should help his mind.

"The movement is a little different in that buildings are much more repetitive; it’s just the same movement patterns over and over," he said. "So that also means that, in general, buildings are a little bit less tricky. It’s not like you’re going to forget one of the key footholds or something, whereas on rock faces sometimes it’s hard to remember exactly how to climb something."

Where is Taipei 101?

Taipei 101 is a skyscraper located in Taipei, Taiwan, which is located in the northern part of the country.

Tallest skyscrapers in the world

According to Skyscraper Center, here is a list of the 10 tallest buildings in the world.

Taipei 101 is the 11th-tallest building in the world, but was the tallest until the construction of Burj Khalifa was completed in 2010.