A free solo climber described as the “French Spiderman” has scaled a 48-storey skyscraper in Paris, fulfilling a goal he had set for himself once he reached the age of 60.
Alain Robert has climbed many of the world’s tallest buildings, often without permission.
Dressed in red on Saturday, Robert raised his arms aloft as he reached the top of the 187-metre (613ft) Tour Total building, which towers over the French capital’s La Defense business district.
“I want to send people the message that being 60 is nothing. You can still do sport, be active, do fabulous things,” said Robert, whose 60th birthday was last month.
“I promised myself several years ago that when I reached 60, I would climb that tower again because 60 symbolises retirement age in France and I thought that was a nice touch.”
Robert, who also wanted to use the climb to raise awareness about the need for climate action, had already climbed the Tour Total on numerous occasions.
He began climbing in 1975, training on the cliffs near his home town of Valence in southern France. He took up solo climbing in 1977 and rapidly became a top climber.
Since then, he has climbed more than 150 towering structures around the world, including Dubai’s Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building – the Eiffel Tower and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
He has been arrested several times. He climbs without a harness, using only his bare hands, a pair of climbing shoes, and a bag of powdered chalk to wipe off the sweat.
In October 2018, he was arrested after scaling London’s 202-metre (662ft) Salesforce Tower – formerly the Heron Tower – without a rope or other safety equipment.
In September 2019, Robert was detained by German police after scaling a high-rise building in Frankfurt.
Robert, then 57, took 20 minutes to climb the 153-metre (502ft) Skyper building in the heart of Germany’s financial capital.
Robert ranks among the greatest climbers in history and claimed that his laser focus is the secret to his abilities.
“In my game,” Robert said in April, “there’s life on one side, death on the other.” The choice is simple: “It’s either fear or focus.”
“Before a climb, I’m afraid,” he admits. But as soon as his fingers touch the first hold, fear evaporates. “I become a different fella [and] enter another world.”
