Alain Robert

   

Alain Robert, born April 7, 1962 in Valence, France, is a rock and urban climber.

Nicknamed "Spiderman," Alain Robert is the world's only extreme solo 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 are used to guide 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 is the only extreme climber in the world who uses no safety devices of any kind. Using only his bare hands and feet, Alain 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, young Alain simply scaled the exterior wall to his eighth floor home. He sufferred two accidents at the ages of 19 and 20, where he fell down 15 metres and suffered multiple fractures. The doctors considered him 66 percent handicapped and told he 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 a dangerous exploit, 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 upto 1 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 powder fastened around his waist to add friction.

His exploits brought him worldwide media exposure and as his reputation grew, speculation began as to whether or not he would attempt the world's tallest building 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 Petronas 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 safely 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.

In October 19, 2004, donning a Spiderman suit, he scaled the 614 foot headquarters of the French oil company Total.

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:

Accidents

Alain Robert suffered two accidents while still in training. He hasn't had a climbing accident ever since.

January 18, 1982, aged 19.

He fell 15 meters when his anchor and rope gave way during a training. He fractured his wrists, heels and nose and underwent three operations.

September 29, 1982, aged 20.

He fell 15 meters when his rope came undone during rappelling. He was in coma for 5 days and fractured both forearms, elbow, pelvis and nose. Also his elbow was dislocated and a nerve was paralysed. He suffered cerebral edema and vertigo as well. He underwent 6 operations on his hands and elbow.

Family

Alain Robert is married to Nicole and has three children. He calls up his children first thing after he reaches the top of a building. His children also climb and practise with him. He respects their choice in this matter.

External links



Retrieved from "http://www.mywiseowl.com/articles/Alain_Robert"

This page has been accessed 145 times. This page was last modified 15:13, 25 Nov 2004. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (see Copyrights for details).