World Traveling Spider-Man – Alain Robert

Heard of Alain Robert, the ‘Real World Spider-Man’? While covering my recent post on a visit to the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, I stumbled onto this adventuring daredevil that has traveled the globe and given credibility for every person that has coined him the ‘real world Spider-Man’. But wait you say… what’s so special about Alain Robert? Well my friends, he has single handedly (no pun intended) free climbed more skyscrapers than anyone else in the world. How many you ask? More than 85… “What!?! You can’t be serious… surely not the tallest ones in the world” Oh yes indeed…

Real World Spider-Man – Alain Robert in action…

Qatar’s tallest building, the Aspire Tower, conquered in 2012 in just over 90 minutes and setting a Guinness world record at age 49.

From my fascination with the worlds tallest man-made structures and my appreciation for those that set goals, conquer their fears and overcome challenges, I’ve decided to dedicate a short but sweet post on this living legend. Because at the end of the day, this guy isn’t just climbing skyscrapers around the world because he’s crazy. Well, he might be crazy, but he’s actually got some meaning behind his climbs…

After many of his climbs, especially his most recent ones over the years, he usually brings along a 100’ banner which he’ll unfurl at the top of building in an effort to promote awareness for global warming.

Take note of his most admirable and notorious climbs:

Sydney – Opera House – 213 feet (65 meters)

Paris – Eiffel Tower – 1027 feet (313 meters)

New York – Empire State Building – 1,250 feet (381 meters)

Chicago – Sears/Willis Tower – 1,453 feet (443 meters)

Taiwan – Taipei 101 – 1,667 feet (508 meters)

Shanghai – Jin Mao Building – 1,380 feet (420 meters) – Quickly arrested at the top and later expelled from China

And (in my opinion) his top accomplishments:

Petronas Twin Towers

He climbed the Petronas Towers 3 times. The first two had him arrested before reaching the top but he returned a few years later and successfully made it to the top… 1,453 feet (452 meters) in just an hour and 40 minutes! Impressive to say the least.

The Burj Khalifa

And not but a couple years later in 2011, he climbed the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. If you’re not familiar with it, take a look at it below because it literally dwarfs any other buildings in the world currently. At over half a mile high (2,717 feet – 828 meters), this climb took him more than six hours. That’s length of time is like running 3 marathons for elite runners or a marathon and a half for the average Joe however, the difference is, your life depends on it! Now the difference with this climb was that it was a ‘legal climb’ by the authorities so they did require safety measures be in place.

 The Burj in Dubai – Currently the world’s tallest building and summitted by Alaian Robert in 2011, age 48.

When asked about why he climbed the building, risking life and limb, Alain Robert told reporters, “I’m doing this to show the students there is no edge or borders and to inspire people to break the mold and not limit themselves… Part of my message is not only to follow your heart but try to innovate in all things you do.”

And in case you need a chart to put these buildings to scale…

Other Amazing Alain Robert Stats:

In total countries around the globe, he more than qualifies as a world traveler: He’s climbed skyscrapers in more than 30 countries and countless cities all over the world. If Antarctica had a skyscraper, he’d have dominated it by now.

Alain has also climbed more than 85 buildings, and that alone is his career climbing skyscrapers. That doesn’t even give mention about his mountain climbing accomplishments. To say the least, he’s a rock star.

This real world Spider-Man is Not Immune to falls however… Over the years, he’s fallen several times with a couple near fatal ones that have landed him in a coma as well as being partially paralyzed. The worst of his 7 falls was at a height of almost 50 feet!

To date, he has been an inspiration to both the climbing community as well as business leaders across the world for his perseverance and ability to overcome obstacles, both physically and mentally. His book, “With Bare Hands’ covers his climbing career from childhood on as well as his philosophy on life.

Truly a unique character and worthy of mention. Surprisingly his own website on AlainRobert.com, doesn’t go into as much detail about his background and track record as you would think it would but by no means is that any reason for less recognition. With my obsessive interest for the tallest structures in the world, his accomplishments deserve praise and admiration, no matter how insane. I could only imagine the anguish and mental toughness he must go through on long climbs taking more than 3 or 4 hours. It’s not like he can just say, “Well I’m tired, I think I’ll stop now”. Any mistake or miscalculation in planning and technique could mean death. Truly an amazing man and upon closer inspection, not nearly as crazy as I thought he was… Who knows, maybe your city is next for his up and coming climb.