Steady rain postpones Alex Honnold’s live climb

Netflix has pushed back its latest live stunt after the weather in Taipei refused to cooperate. The streaming giant had planned to air “Skyscraper Live,” a real‑time broadcast in which world‑famous climber Alex Honnold would attempt to scale Taipei 101, one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, without ropes. The event was slated to stream globally at 8 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, giving viewers a chance to watch the star of the Oscar‑winning documentary “Free Solo” inch his way up 101 floors using only his hands and feet. But steady rain in Taiwan forced producers to postpone the attempt by 24 hours; Honnold and his support team said the granite exterior must be bone‑dry for him to climb safely. The show’s producers, a collaboration between the documentary filmmakers behind “Free Solo” and the team at Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi’s Little Monster Films, issued a statement saying that the safety of the climber and crew was paramount. Netflix said the event would now stream on Sunday evening, weather permitting, at the same time slot. Honnold, who had been practising on shorter skyscrapers around the world, told reporters that he fully supported the decision and that he would not take unnecessary risks. “You can’t argue with weather,” he said. “The building will still be there tomorrow.”

Logistical hurdles highlight challenges of live extreme sports

The postponement underscores the logistical challenges involved in bringing extreme sports to a live streaming platform. Unlike Honnold’s ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite, which was filmed and edited over months for “Free Solo,” “Skyscraper Live” is designed to unfold in real time with a small army of camera operators capturing every move. Taipei 101 is more than 1,600 feet tall and is known for strong winds and sudden storms that can make its glass and steel facade slick. Producers had chosen late January because it is usually Taiwan’s dry season, but meteorologists noted that climate patterns have become less predictable. In addition to weather concerns, the team had to coordinate with Taipei city officials to cordon off streets and to arrange medical crews on site.

Netflix is betting that live spectacles like “Skyscraper Live” will help set its service apart as competition in streaming intensifies. The company has invested in technology to handle the latency and bandwidth demands of live global broadcasts, and earlier this year it streamed a live stand‑up comedy special featuring comedian Chris Rock. Executives say events like Honnold’s climb offer an unedited thrill that viewers crave in an era of highly produced content. Still, they acknowledge the inherent unpredictability of outdoor stunts. For Honnold, who became a household name after scaling Yosemite’s El Capitan without ropes in 2017, the Taipei climb is both a personal challenge and an opportunity to showcase technical climbing to a global audience. He has spent months in Taiwan studying the building’s handholds and working with local engineers to assess safety. If successful, “Skyscraper Live” could broaden the appeal of climbing and further cement Honnold’s status as one of the sport’s most daring figures. But as the postponement shows, sometimes the most powerful force on the mountain—or the skyscraper—is the weather.