Alain Robert, the free climber dubbed the “French Spiderman”, scaled a 48-storey skyscraper in Paris on Saturday, fulfilling a aim he had set for himself as soon as he reached the age of 60.
Wearing purple, Mr Robert raised his arms aloft as he reached the highest of the 187-metre Tour TotalEnergies constructing, which towers over the French capital’s La Protection enterprise district.
“I need to ship individuals the message that being 60 is nothing. You’ll be able to nonetheless do sport, be energetic, do fabulous issues,” stated Mr Robert, whose sixtieth birthday was final month.
“I promised myself a number of years in the past that after I reached 60, I might climb that tower once more as a result of 60 symbolises retirement age in France, and I assumed that was a pleasant contact,” he advised Reuters.
French city climber Alain Robert, effectively referred to as “Spiderman”, speaks to the media earlier than climbing the Whole tower at La Protection enterprise district in Paris, on Saturday, 17 September 2022. Supply: AAP / AP
Mr Robert, who additionally needed to make use of the climb to lift consciousness in regards to the want for local weather change motion, had already climbed the TotalEnergies tower on quite a few events.
He started climbing in 1975, coaching on the cliffs close to his hometown of Valence in southern France.
He took up solo climbing in 1977 and quickly turned a prime climber.
Since then, he has climbed greater than 150 towering buildings world wide together with Dubai’s Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest constructing, the Eiffel Tower, and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
Typically climbing with out permission, he has been arrested repeatedly. He climbs and not using a harness, utilizing solely his naked arms, a pair of climbing footwear, and a bag of powdered chalk to wipe off the sweat.