EP10 | He Climbed Taipei 101 Without Ropes | 他徒手爬上台北101：Alex Honnold

你能想像有人徒手攀爬台北101嗎？這一集帶你回顧世界知名攀岩者 Alex Honnold 挑戰台北101的驚險過程，從攀爬當天的天氣與現場氣氛，到他在高空中的心理狀態與身體極限。我們也會聊到他多年來為這次挑戰所做的準備，以及他過去徒手攀登優勝美地酋長岩（El Capitan）的傳奇經歷。這不只是一場運動壯舉，更是一個關於專注、勇氣與人類極限的故事。 What does it feel like to climb one of the world’s tallest buildings without ropes? This episode follows Alex Honnold’s breathtaking ascent of Taipei 101, exploring the conditions on the day, his mindset high above the city, his preparation, and his legendary free solo climb of El Capitan. Transcript: Hey guys, I’m your English teacher, Miss Y! Welcome to the podcast made for intermediate English learners who want to listen to English and learn about different topics in a fun and easy way. Today’s story is honestly one of those “I can’t believe I am watching this” moments. We’re talking about Alex Honnold climbing Taipei 101 — without ropes. Yep. That Taipei 101. The tallest building in Taiwan. Over 500 meters high. And he climbed it with just his hands, his feet, and a small chalk bag. Let’s get into it. Picture this. It’s a clear Sunday morning in Taipei. The sky is blue, the air is calm, and thousands of people are standing outside Taipei 101, looking up. Around the world, many more people are watching their screens because Netflix is live-streaming the whole thing. Live-stream means people all over the world can watch it on the internet as something happens; 現場串流直播, livestream. Netflix is live-streaming it! Alex Honnold, a 40-year-old American climber, is standing at the bottom of the building. No ropes. No harness. 沒有護具. No safety net. This kind of climbing is called free soloing — climbing completely alone, with no protective equipment. One mistake could mean death. The building is 508 meters tall — that’s about 1,667 feet — and has 101 floors. When Alex looked up, he later said it felt like the building went on forever. He said, “It feels infinite.” infinite 就是無限的,沒有盡頭一樣. When you look up, you don’t see a top — just more building and more sky. He actually planned to climb the day before, but the weather was bad. It had rained, and wet surfaces are extremely dangerous for climbing. So they postponed it. Safety — at least weather safety — still matters, even for someone who takes huge risks. The next day, the sun showed up, and the sky cleared up. When the climb finally started, the crowd got quiet. Alex began moving slowly and carefully up the outside of Taipei 101. Now, you might imagine him climbing on smooth glass, smooth就是光滑的, but actually the building has many metal beams, ledges, 梁跟柱就是beams and ledges, so the building has metal beams and ledges, and also balcony edges. Still, that doesn’t make it easy. It’s physically exhausting and mentally intense. As he climbed higher, he had to deal with wind, especially around the corners of the building. Wind at that height can push your body and affect your balance. He also had to climb over the building’s famous “bamboo box” design — bamboo就是竹子, the “bamboo box” design, featuring those stacked sections that stick out a little. Because they overhang — meaning they lean outward, 就是他凸出來, overhang — they are more physically demanding. demanding就是高度要求的, 哪方面的要求呢? physically, 體能方面的. They are physically demanding. You have to use more arm strength to pull yourself up. He said those were some of the hardest moves of the whole climb. But something interesting happened mentally. mentally是心理層面的. Instead of getting more scared as he got higher, he actually started to relax. He said the biggest challenge was at the beginning — staying calm with all the people watching, the cameras, the pressure. But once he got into the rhythm of climbing, the rhythm, 就是節奏, He found his own rhythm of climbing, he felt more focused and even started to enjoy it. After about one and a half hours — 91 minutes to be precise — he reached the top spire of Taipei 101. When he stood at the very top, he raised his arms and smiled. The crowd below went crazy. He later said standing on the top was actually less scary than climbing the side. I don’t know about you, but I felt so nervous even when watching him standing at the top of Taipei 101. He even had time to take a selfie at the top — imagine that. Selfie… 508 meters above the ground. That must be the coolest selfie in 2026. He described the feeling like finishing a long race. You’re tired, but it’s a “happy tired.” Your muscles are exhausted, but you know you made it. After the climb, Alex did interviews, and his comments were really interesting for understanding his mindset. He said during the climb, he sometimes lost track of space and time. When you lose track of something, you no longer know what is happening, you no longer remember anything. That means he was so focused on each movement — each handhold, each step — that he wasn’t really thinking about how high he was or how long he had been climbing. He said the key is to stay present. present就是當下,現下,現在的時空. Don’t think about the top. Don’t think about falling. Just think about this move right now, that is the present moment. Then the next one. And the next one. Near the top, he described the final section as a “victory lap.” That expression usually comes from sports. After a runner wins a race, they sometimes jog slowly around the track to celebrate. For Alex, the hardest part was already done, and he could finally enjoy the view. And what a view. Taipei stretched out below him, 台北就在他眼下伸展開來 — the city, the mountains in the distance, the sky all around. He said it was beautiful and “quite an experience.” Even with strong winds and physical fatigue, fatigue meaning feeling very very tired, he said he never felt like he had to stop. He expected to be tired — of course he would be tired after climbing a skyscraper! A skyscraper is an extremely tall building — so tall it feels like it’s touching the sky. 摩天大樓. Of course climbing a skyscraper is tiring! But he trusted his training. So why did this even happen? Alex had actually dreamed about climbing Taipei 101 for more than 10 years. But it’s not easy to get permission, 得到許可, to climb one of the most famous skyscrapers in the world. Eventually, the idea was connected with Netflix, which wanted to create a live event — something exciting, dramatic, and global. Netflix livestreamed the climb with a 10-second delay. That means the video people saw was 10 seconds behind real life. This gave them a small safety buffer in case something went wrong and they needed to stop the broadcast. The event created huge excitement — but also ethical concerns. ethical就是跟道德有關的. ethical concerns, or ethical worries. Some people felt it was inspiring and amazing. Others felt it was too dangerous to show live, worrying it might turn life-threatening risk into entertainment. The local government and Taipei 101 management officially approved the climb. Taipei 101’s chairperson, 董事長, the chairperson, Janet Chia, shared on her social media about the unimaginable difficulty and risks she had to undergo when making the decision to approve the climb. Luckily, the event was a huge success. She even congratulated Alex afterward and said she hoped the world could see Taiwan’s beauty and the warmth of its people. So the climb was not just a personal challenge — it also became a global media event and a moment of international attention for Taiwan. If you’re thinking, “What kind of person does this?” — good question. Alex Honnold is probably the most famous free solo climber in the world. He’s been climbing since he was young and became well known in his early 20s for doing extremely difficult climbs alone. But his biggest, most famous achievement before Taipei 101 was in 2017, when he became the first person ever to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in the U.S. Yosemite National Park 中文是翻成「優勝美地國家公園」. El Capitan is a giant rock wall about 1,000 meters tall — that’s almost 3,000 feet. He climbed it with no ropes in just under four hours. That climb was filmed in the documentary, documentary紀錄片. The documentary is called “Free Solo,” which later won an Oscar. 奧斯卡獎. Before that climb, he practiced every move again and again with ropes. He memorized every handhold, every foothold. He says free soloing is not about being crazy or loving danger. For him, it’s about movement, focus, and mastery. mastery就是把一件事情或技巧做到精通, 充分掌握一件事情. He tries to reduce risk as much as possible through preparation. Still, he knows the risk is never zero. That’s why many people see him as brave. Others see him as reckless. Reckless is like being careless and irresponsible, not considering things carefully enough. But everyone agrees he is incredibly skilled and mentally strong. After the Taipei 101 climb, reactions were mixed. Many people felt awe — that feeling when something is so amazing it almost doesn’t feel real. 超驚訝說不出話的感覺, 就是awe. Social media was full of messages like, “I couldn’t breathe watching this,” and “This is history.” But some people felt uneasy. They asked, “Should we really be watching something where a person could die on live TV?” Even some climbers felt uncomfortable with the livestream, saying climbing is personal and not meant to be a public spectacle like this. His wife, Sanni, watched from inside the building and later joked that she was basically having a panic attack the whole time. panic attack就是恐慌症發作那樣. She was joking, but no doubt she was super worried. Imagine loving someone who does this for a living! Alex himself, though, stayed very calm about it all. After finishing, he simply said, “What a nice day.” And then went to have Xiao Lung Bao (this little juicy delicious pork steam buns) in Din Tai Feng restaurant. Very classic Alex Honnold — simple, quiet, not dramatic. He also said he hopes people feel inspired, inspired 就是感覺被啟發的,感覺想法或靈感的被激發的. He hopes people can feel inspired — not to climb skyscrapers, but to go after their own goals, whatever they are. Before we finish, here are some questions for you to think about: Could you watch this kind of livestream, or would it be too stressful? Do you think events like this are inspiring, or unethical to show? What was the bravest thing you’ve tried in your life? But guys, do you know what I believe? You don’t have to climb a building to be brave. Sometimes bravery is just speaking a foreign language out loud, trying something new, learning something new and not giving up. I’m Miss Y, and I really hope you enjoyed learning English with me today. If you liked this episode, come back next time for another fun 15 to 20 minutes of simple, clear English—and a brand-new topic to explore. Stay curious, learn the world in simple English with Miss Y, and I’ll talk to you again soon. Leave a comment and share your thoughts: Powered by Firstory Hosting