Alex Honnold’s ‘Skyscraper Live’ on Netflix Has Been Postponed

Update, January 23: Netflix announced that Alex Honnold’s Skyscraper Live has been postponed by one day. The event will now take place on Saturday, January 24, at 8 P.M. EST (5 P.M. Pacific). Netflix cited weather as the reason for the delay. “Safety remains our top priority, and we appreciate your understanding,” the streaming giant wrote on social media. 

Mark your calendars, everyone, because we now know when Alex Honnold plans to scale that futuristic-looking skyscraper in Taiwan live on Netflix.

According to a press release distributed by the streaming giant, Honnold will climb Taipe 101 on Friday, January 23 in the debut of Skyscraper Live. Yes, I plan to watch the spectacle. No, I don’t know exactly when it will start (c’mon, Netflix).

I recently interviewed Honnold ahead of the launch of his new podcast season, and I asked him about the appeal of Skyscraper Live. He mentioned the relatively short time frame for the project (two weeks), as well as the thrill of ascending something so exclusive. Honnold will probably be the only person ever allowed to legally scale the 1,667-foot building.

“This is basically pure fun for me and the audience,” he told me in October. “There’s really no bigger angle to it. It’s just sheer entertainment, for me and for the masses.”

Honnold fielded a few additional questions about the project for Netflix’s PR website, which is called TUDUM (get it—TU! DUM!). Here are some highlights from what Mr. Free Solo had to say.

What It Will be Like to be Watched by Millions

“That I’m actually not at all concerned about, just because the feeling of being witnessed is nothing compared to the feeling of trying to do something challenging and do it well. My life is on the line—I don’t really care who’s watching. I care about doing what I’m doing and doing it well.

I’m not really worried about the spectators. Plus, no matter how many people are watching, I’m never going to see the people watching. It’s not like an auditorium of people watching me. My experience is just seeing the camera guys, and the camera guys are all friends of mine, and they all want the best for me, and they’re all out there having a good time. It’s really positive having the camera guys around me.”

How Long He’s Been Preparing for the Climb

“I’ve been climbing full-time for 30 years, so if you count all that as preparation, that’s quite a lot.

The direct, physical training for the building, specifically, is only maybe two and a half months ahead of time. I’ve been really excited about the building, and I’ve wanted to start training, but basically you don’t want to over-sharpen your sword—you just can’t start training too soon because you burn yourself out, you get injured.

I first saw this building more than ten years ago, and I’ve hoped to have the opportunity to climb it since then.”

What He Hopes Viewers Feel During the Ascent

“I’m sure viewers will probably be on edge watching this. I assume that most people will be sort of uncomfortable watching the whole thing.

But I hope that viewers get a little bit of my joy from the experience—that they can appreciate the fun of it and the beauty of it, the scenery, just the whole experience. It’s not just extreme sports—it’s more. Hopefully it’ll be fun and cool and beautiful, and they can experience some of the joy of it.”

Which Section Will Test Him the Most

“I think the hardest part of the climb will be what we’re calling the bamboo boxes, which are eight segments in the middle of the building that are overhanging. Each one is eight floors, so it represents 64 floors in the middle of the building, and they’re all the same.

They overhang, I don’t know, ten 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.

This means you do quite a hard effort for almost 100 feet, and then there’s a balcony, and then you do hard effort for 100 feet, and there’s a balcony. So, in a lot of ways, that’s what rock climbing feels like, where you climb for a certain rope length and then you stop. The boxes are definitely the most physically demanding part.”