Alain Robert
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Alain Robert (born April 7 1962 in Valence, France) is a rock and urban climber.
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Overview
Nicknamed "Spiderman," Robert is a solo urban climber, free climbing high rocks and up the flat, smooth glass surfaces of skyscrapers. Climbers such as George "the Human Fly" Willig climbed the South Tower of the World Trade Center in 1977, but did it using clamping devices that fit into the steel tracks running up and down the building's exterior that were used to guide employee window washing equipment. In 1981, "Spider Dan" Goodwin climbed the glass of the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center in Chicago using suction cups. However, Alain Robert uses no tools or safety devices of any kind. Using only his bare hands and climbing shoes, Robert has scaled more than 70 giant structures around the globe including many of the world's tallest structures. Robert began climbing as a young boy, scaling rock cliffs in the area around his home. His buildering career began at the age of 12 when he forgot his keys and was locked out of his parents' apartment. Instead of waiting for them to come home, Alain simply scaled the exterior wall to his eighth floor home. He suffered two accidents at the ages of 19 and 20, where he fell 15 metres and suffered multiple fractures. The doctors considered him 66 percent handicapped and told him wouldn't be able to climb again. However in 6 months he was back to climbing. He kept taking on more and more challenging structures and improving his skills. He polished his rock-climbing skills in the French Alps before turning to buildings.
Strategy
Because the authorities would not give him permission for such dangerous exploits, Alain Robert would suddenly appear, usually at dawn, on the side of a giant skyscraper in cities around the world where thousands of onlookers would stop in awe of what was happening. As a result, he has been arrested in various countries many times by police waiting at the building's top. The arrests and trials are little more than quick formalities and he is always discharged.
Robert's well-developed arm and leg muscles ensure that he holds on to vertical surfaces, without an opportunity to rest, during long climbs, some of which go up to one hour or more. He is of short stature - 5 feet 5, and this has provided him with nimbleness while climbing. He sometimes has a small bag of resin powder fastened around his waist to absorb sweat.
His exploits brought him worldwide media exposure and as his reputation grew, speculation began as to whether or not he would attempt one of the world's tallest buildings - the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. While Malaysian authorities were expecting it, they were still astonished when one day in 1997 he suddenly appeared several floors up on the side of the tower on his way to the top. He was eventually arrested while on the 60th floor, 28 short of the 88-storied building.
While scaling the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois in 1999, he encountered the most challenging climbing conditions in his career. Near the top of the 110 story building, a thick fog set in that covered the glass and metal wall of the last 20 floors with moisture making it dangerously slippery. Although the climb became agonizingly slow and very strenuous, Alain Robert overcame it and reached the top.
In February 2003, he legally climbed the 656-foot National Bank of Abu Dhabi, UAE, watched by about 100,000 spectators. In April, he scaled the headquarters of oil giant TotalFinaElf in La Défense outside of Paris to protest the invasion of Iraq.
Robert is now paid to scale buildings as part of publicity efforts. In May 2003, he was paid approximately $18,000 to climb the 312-foot, Lloyd's of London, to promote the premiere of the movie Spider-Man on the British television channel, Sky Movies.
On October 19, 2004, donning a Spiderman suit, he scaled the 614 foot headquarters of the French oil company Total. On June 11, 2005 he climbed the Cheung Kong Centre in Hong Kong, China, scaling 283 meters (928 feet) to the top of the 62-story tower (CNN story here (http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/06/11/hk.spiderman.ap/index.html)).
There is an award-winning documentary about him titled Alain Robert is Spiderman.
Notable climbs
A few of the more than 70 skyscrapers and monuments climbed by Alain Robert:
- Sydney, Australia – Sydney Tower and the Sydney Opera House
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Hotel Vermont
- Montreal, Canada – Crown Plaza Hotel
- Hong Kong, China
- ATV Asia Building
- Nec Building
- The Far East Financial Center
- The Cheung Kong Center
- London
- Canary Wharf Tower
- Lloyd's of London building
- Paris, France
- Eiffel Tower
- Grande Arche at La Défense
- Obelisk in Place de la Concorde
- Tour Montparnasse
- Frankfurt, Germany – Dresdner Bank Tower
- Milan, Italy - Banca di Milano building
- Tokyo, Japan – Shinjuku Tower
- Warsaw, Poland – Marriott Hotel
- Johannesburg, South Africa – IBM Tower
- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - National Bank of Abu Dhabi
- United States of America
- Empire State Building - New York City
- Sears Tower - Chicago, Illinois
- Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco, California
- Blue Cross, Blue Shield Building - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Tampere, Finland Hotel Ilves
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Petronas Tower (arrested from the 60th floor)
- Taiwan - Taipei 101
Accidents
Alain Robert suffered two accidents while still in training. He hasn't had a climbing accident since.
On January 18, 1982, aged 19, he fell 15 meters when his anchor and rope gave way during training. He fractured his wrists, heels and nose and underwent three operations.
On September 29, 1982, aged 20, he fell 15 meters when his rope came undone during rappelling. He was in a coma for five days and fractured both forearms, his elbow, pelvis and nose. His elbow was also dislocated and a nerve was damaged leaving him partially paralysed. He suffered cerebral edema and vertigo too. He underwent six operations on his hands and elbow.
Family
Alain Robert is married to Nicole and has three children. He calls his children first thing after he reaches the top of a building. His children also climb and practice with him.
External links
- Official Website (http://www.alainrobert.com) - requires Macromedia Flash, includes a number of spectacular photos
- Template:Web reference (accessible without Flash)
- Daring urban climber from China Daily (http://app1.chinadaily.com.cn/star/2001/0215/pr21-1.html)bg:Ален Робер