Climbing Building 101 Barehanded! Alex Honnold 1/24 Netflix Live, market bets on summit in 1.5 hours

Legendary climber Alex Honnold will live stream his free solo ascent of Taipei 101 on Netflix on January 24. This challenge will be rope-free, with nearly 40% of market predictors betting that he will reach the top within 1.5 hours, and there is a 95% probability of success.

Alex Honnold free soloing Taipei 101, Netflix live on 1/24

Recently, the Taiwanese community has been buzzing about Netflix releasing a special program titled “Free Solo Taipei 101: Live” at 9 a.m. on January 24. Legendary climber Alex Honnold will attempt to climb one of the world’s tallest buildings, Taipei 101, without ropes. Recently, footage of him practicing has been captured by the public, showing he is well-prepared.

This challenge differs from previous pre-recorded documentaries. He will undertake a completely real-time climb without ropes, safety nets, or the possibility of retries.

Honnold stated in an interview that he understands viewers might feel nervous watching the live broadcast, but he hopes the audience can go beyond the thrill of extreme sports and appreciate the joy of climbing and the beauty of the cityscape.

To give viewers a deeper understanding of the challenge details, the live broadcast will feature seasoned sports anchor Elle Duncan, professional climbers Emily Harrington, and former NASA engineer Mark Rober as commentators, providing real-time analysis of technical difficulties and physiological challenges during the climb.

Alex Honnold’s success rate in climbing Taipei 101? Traders are betting

Besides community discussions, Honnold’s free solo climb of Taipei 101 has attracted attention in the prediction markets where everything can be forecast.

Data from the prediction market Polymarket shows that the contract titled “Will Alex Honnold free solo Taipei 101?” had a trading volume of $229,709 as of January 23. Traders are highly confident in Honnold, with a 95% chance predicted for him to successfully complete the challenge.

The rules of this prediction contract state that Honnold must complete the climb successfully for the contract to be judged as “Yes.” If he abandons halfway, enters the building through a window, or cancels the challenge, the contract will be judged as “No.”

Image source: Polymarket

Another prediction contract with nearly $500,000 in trading volume speculates on how long Honnold will take to reach the top. As of January 21, 35% of traders predict he will spend between 1 hour and 1.5 hours, while 4% believe he will not succeed.

Image source: Polymarket

Alex Honnold is already a climbing legend, with optimistic predictions for his success

Honnold is well-known in the extreme sports world. His most famous achievement is becoming the first climber to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, a 3,000-foot-high granite wall, a feat captured in the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo” in 2018.

In addition to this iconic rock face challenge, he recently led an expedition into Greenland, successfully pioneering the ascent of Ingmikortilaq, a peak nearly 4,000 feet high—about three times the height of the Empire State Building—while also contributing to climate change research.

In an interview with GQ magazine, Honnold explained that feeling doubt about conquering massive vertical walls is natural, but focusing on specific decisions can dispel fear.

The live broadcast of “Free Solo Taipei 101” is imminent. Although variables like weather changes or minor injuries could pose risks to Honnold’s climb, Netflix continues to confirm the live plan, and local permits in Taiwan have been approved smoothly. His previous success on El Capitan also boosts public and market confidence.

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