‘Spiderman’ climbs highest tower
Alain Robert climbed the 231m First Tower, without ropes, in less than an hour
FRENCH “Spiderman” Alain Robert has climbed France’s highest skyscraper in his latest exploit.
He climbed – as usual bare-handed and without ropes or other safety equipment – the 231m First Tower in the La Défense business district west of Paris.
The tower, built in 1974, was extended in 2007-2011, making it France’s highest, ahead of the Montparnasse Tower.
Known for regularly climbing giant buildings unauthorised and being arrested at the top, this time Mr Robert, 49, climbed with permission, reaching the top in less than an hour.
After the climb he said he was “pleased to be alive”, adding “I’m someone who follows things through to the end. If I’d not succeeded I would have come back. It took three goes to climb the Petronas Towers in Malaysia.”
The First Tower is “frankly not easy”, he told Europe 1. “It has a complicated structure and its coating is quite slippery.”
He added: “I am always afraid, but it is a controlled fear.”
Mr Robert climbed the last few metres to applause from hundreds who had gathered below to watch.
He suffers from vertigo since a fall on the head in the 1980s and is considered 66% disabled by the French social security.
See Mr Robert climbing the tower here: Alain Robert at La Défense
Photo: Screenshot from IBTIMES TV
