MORE PICS –SPIDERMAN Alain Robert 2nd Attempt Foiled to Reach 451m Petronas Twin Tower; Arrested 340m on 60th Floor; INTERVIEW on his Exploits
ABOVE & BELOW; Alain Robert 45 years, has that endearing human spirit and the empowering message he has for life on earth - there is no limit for the self. Look within yourself, all will be available and provided for you. You are greater than who you think you are for there is a God dwelling within you.
Alain Robert, “a city is like a range of mountains, with one little difference: there will always be new skyscrapers under construction“ "We set ourselves limits, but we are all strong enough to aim higher, to achieve our goals. All we have to do is find such strength within ourselves. Know how to develop it. .. I do think that sometimes faith can move mountains…"= = == =
What a wet blanket. Our authorities miss this golden opportunity to let him complete what he sought out to do - reach the top. And if he had done it, our country name would be flying high around the globe with the attending headlines in this 50th Anniversary of nationhood.
His climb up the
Police have arrested the urban climber who calls himself the Spiderman as he attempted to scale the 88th Floor of the Petronas Twin Tower on Tuesday 20th Mar 07 for the second time in 10 years with his bare hands. A fire and rescue spokesman said Alan was detained as he made it to the 60th Floor of Tower 2 where he unfurled a Malaysian Flag to the cheering crowd of about 500 below before being led away by the police.
ABOVE: A 500 strong crowd cheered him on as he made his way up the Tower (BELOW). By the 40th Floor he was barely visible
A crowd of about 500 had gathered for the climb without any ropes or safety equipment up the 452m building. He was barely visible once he passed the 40th storey. Visiting French Senate president was amongst the onlookers. When the authorities asked him to stop, he said “OK”. But when he attempted to climb further the authorities said “NO”. A decade ago Robert was also stopped on the same floor where there is latch for officials to climb onto and was charged with trespassing. It was not immediately known whether he will be charged this time.
ABOVE & BELOW: Some closed-up views on his way up.
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'Spiderman' returns... and gets nabbed;
ABOVE: NST pic showing his worded T-Shirt and BELOW: 59th Floor -pausing to answer a call, Star Pic by Michael Lee
However, he was stopped by the authorities who persuaded him to end his stunt. Robert agreed, but not before unfurling a Jalur Gemilang to the cheers of 500 onlookers below. His stunt resulted in the police cordoning off the area below Tower 2, while a helicopter hovered nearby. Fire and Rescue Department operations commander Christopher Chong said the department had received a call at
Robert has climbed over 65 buildings around the world, including the Eiffel Tower, London’s Canary Wharf building, New York’s Empire State Building and Chicago’s Sears Tower. Speaking to the New Straits Times, Robert said he initially wanted to climb at
= = ==the following Six Pics (resized and enhanced) are exclusive from senior member jelly fish @lensa Malaysia ; These Pics taken by his friends INSIDE the building using mobiles.
ABOVE & BELOW: Pics taken inside building showing Alain taking a breather before proceeding
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ABOVE & BELOW: On the way up, but was thwarted by the Security people
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ABOVE: at the 60th Floor he pulled out the Malaysian flag and unflurled it (BELOW) to cheers from the crowd below
STAR;
Using only his bare hands and feet, he scaled Tower 2 at around
His attempt to reach the top of the tower was stopped when the authorities on the 60th floor managed to coax him to abandon his effort. He was also arrested at the same level in 1997, just 28 floors from the top. Jalan Hang Tuah Fire and Rescue Department Asst Supt Christopher Chong said, “In an attempt to escape the authorities, he tried to climb around the tower (on the 59th floor going to the 60th floor) but he gave up his intention after he saw that firemen and police officers had the area covered.
“We advised him to give up and he said 'okay' but he later waved the Malaysian flag again. Then he climbed to the 60th floor at around
Robert entered the cable news channel Al-Jazeera’s office, which had started its English language broadcast centre operations here recently, at about 4pm. He was handcuffed and escorted by police and Fire and Rescue Department personnel downstairs. Applause was heard throughout the office while pressmen scrambled to get quick interviews and photographs of him. Among the buildings that he has scaled are the
He said the Frenchman was being investigated under Section 448 of the Criminal Procedure Code for trespassing and would be charged. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to a jail term of up to one year, or a fine of up to RM2,000, or both.
= = = =a wide ranging interview
ALAIN ROBERT (Spiderman) Interview (2005) , By ArdArvin - is a long time builderer, and founder of buildering.net.
A 451-meter-high tower, 88 floors. The highest building on earth. Alain Robert has been dreaming about it for years, but he fails. The police opened a window and caught him, 340 meters from the ground. Somewhere in a downtown
Across from us sit six beautiful girls dressed in bikinis, a stand-up comedian, and an African dancer dressed in whatever African dancers dress in. Alain is wondering what the deal is with the girls, and I tell him that they are modeling some swimwear for the same show that he is slated to appear on. “Models?” he asks, scrutinizing them closely. “Those aren’t models. In
For Alain, it’s just another day at the office - another interview, another climb, another spectacle. Alain’s climbs garner him worldwide media attention, having climbed over 70 skyscrapers, including the
The following interview takes place intermittently over the duration of his stay, as I had the pleasure of showing Alain around the city, taking to various media events, and scoping out the occasional building with him.
So first off, the question on everyone’s mind: are you going to climb anything in Vancouver?
No, if I climb anything in
Plus no one has offered to step forward and pay my bail and lawyer fees, which can cost around $15 000US. People they think that I climb a building and that is all, but really that is just the start of the process. I suppose I could contact goldenpalace.com, but it’s too cold to climb anyway.
I’m surprised that you even made it to
No, I deferred the court-case for the second time, but the next time I have to go.
I didn’t even get to climb. I was sure that I didn’t even start, but they took my fingerprint on the building, and in fact it seems that I really did climb one meter.
Everything happened so fast because one of the media, most likely Fox News, called the police on the eve of the ascent. In the morning there were over 50 cops waiting for me from
The thing is, when the cab stopped, I thought the building was right on the side of the street, but I was having to run about 9 or 10 meters, so already I lost about 2 or 3 seconds. Also the cab, he stopped the car in front of another car, and I had to run around the car, losing another couple seconds. You know it’s a matter of seconds. If I had another two seconds, I would’ve done the climb – that is what the cops told me. But I was stupid. Each time I do an ascent I work with Reuters, AP, and AFP, because I know these people are not the type to call the cops. They are big press and TV agency, and they are selling the story in other countries. But this time I contacted Fox News, which was a mistake.
What were you charged with in Houston?
Trespassing, mischief, and drugs. The drugs charge is silly, since they are only prescription drugs. They were for my epileptic seizures which I suffer from since my fall in 1982. I carry them in my pocket just in case. Trespassing and mischief are misdemeanor charges, however the prosecutor is trying to make it criminal trespass. You know the prosecutor was a real bitch. She wanted me to go to jail for a long time. But the good thing is, I nearly have no chance of having the same prosecutor for my second court-case. It is a bit of a lottery who your prosecutor is each time.
Do you have the same lawyer each time?
No it is not possible to have the same lawyer. Even in the
You don’t always climb buildings illegally, often you climb with permission from the property owners.
Yes, people pay me to climb their buildings to get media attention for a new building, or a newly renovated building, or perhaps for an upcoming event.
Compared to professional rock climbers, which make very little money, you must do very well financially. I think it’s safe to say that you are the highest paid climber on the planet.
Yes well famous rock climbers are only in the climbing magazines. Me I don’t get photos in climbing magazines. I get photos in Times, on CNN, BBC, Reuters, AP, all the major publications, but not climbing magazines.
Many of these climbing publications are too narrow-minded - they look at me climbing a building and say “that’s not climbing”. What is it then?
But I don’t mind. Because I’m known all over the world, and not just the climbing community, I can make more money. These large publications pay much more than climbing magazines. Climbing magazines are small and pay peanuts.
Do you make the majority of your money through selling your stories to news publications?
No, I don’t really make much money from selling interviews and pictures anymore. Things have changed a lot in the last 10 years. Now everything is digital and instant. Anyone can take a good picture. Now when I climb a building, there are 100 good photos of the climb, so it’s hard to sell anything.
These days I sell the event, the actual climb. People pay me to climb their buildings - it’s an advertising opportunity for them. When I climb a building, the story is known throughout the world. That sort of advertising is priceless.
Have you ever been in any movies or commercials?
No not really. I get offers, but mainly for stunt work, which pays peanuts. The hours are long, plus they want you to use cables and safety gear. When I climb a building, I get paid up to $50 000US - that’s for one hour of work. Sony sometimes pays me to climb for the opening of the new Spiderman movies, but I’m not in the movie.
That’s when you climb in a Spiderman costume?
Yes, but I would like to get away from the Spiderman image. I would to have my own identity. I am thinking of a different costume, maybe yellow and black.
Do you have any sponsors in the rock climbing community?
I am sponsored by Boreal, but they no longer give me money, just shoes. They made a rule that they would only give money for people who get pictures in climbing magazines.
But you climbed rock before you started buildering.
Yes, I have been rock climbing for thirty years. But when I rock climb, I don’t really like to follow the routes - I like to go wherever I want. Most people, they have a guidebook, and they stick only to those routes. Rock climbers can be very narrow-minded. For me, I just enjoy climbing.
Also, rock climbing back then is not like it is now. Back then it was something not completely safe. Now they are making climbing much safer. You know these companies like North Face, they want to be able to sell to as many people as possible, so they are going to make climbing as safe as they can. If they say “climbing is fucking dangerous”, who is going to climb? So they say “we are living in a safe world, and we are doing safe things”. With buildering, I get to keep that element of danger. Plus, I very much like the feeling of height, and buildings have even more of a feeling of height than rock faces.
So just to state for the record…you never use ropes or protection when buildering?
No never. Although sometimes if I am climbing a building legally, the client will make it a condition of the climb that I do it roped. That is the only time I use ropes.
Now you’ve fallen numerous times while climbing, but are still here to tell us about it.
Well my first major injury was in the spring of 1982, a rappelling accident on the cliffs of
Then I fell again, this time much worse. I was teaching some students to climb, showing them to push on their legs, not pull on their arms. I was climbing an easy route with my hands behind my back to emphasize the point, when I lost balance and fell headfirst from eight meters. I fell onto both wrists, which were completely shattered. After 15 minutes I fell into a coma, I was bleeding badly and lost nearly one liter of my blood. So I was really in a bad, bad state. I spent about 2 months in the hospital. The very good surgeon told me that my climbing was completely finished. But I did relearn how to climb, with much difficulty, and after one year I was climbing some routes which were harder than what I was climbing before my accident.
How was the climb?
Quite dirty and difficult, but still I did it. This was two days before the Tsunami.So have you completely recovered from your injuries, or do some things still bother you today?
My knee still bothers me a bit. I had surgery on it and they put a metal plate in it. I was supposed to have it taken out 3 months after, but I didn’t bother going back. Now it’s too late to take it out. Sometimes my knee hurts a bit when I try and ski, but it’s fine for climbing.
I understand you still have a disability card.
Yes, I have a card that I use for parking. But usually, because I am having a nice car [Alain drives an Audi TT] people are tripping. But then I take out the card and show them, and they say “oh sorry I didn’t realize”.But you know, I could have been getting money from the government for twenty years, but because making some money in climbing it is a bit difficult. You know I can’t play on both sides. The government they look at me and say “ok we are paying this guy, and we see him on TV climbing, what’s the deal”. So now I just use it to park my car.
I hope to be able to climb for another three to five years before I retire. I am not completely sure but at least I am going to try. I’m trying to make as much money as possible right now for retirement. I’m used to this lifestyle of traveling all over the world, so when I retire, I don’t want it to be a modest retirement.
What was the hardest climb you’ve ever done?
The
Did you kiss the ground when you reached the top?
Well you know it is fine because I am still alive. It’s a little bit like starting a new life. It’s something very nice - a very great feeling. And the more difficult the climb, the more I appreciate that I am still alive.
Have you ever gotten stuck?
Yes on the Arche de la Defense in
If I remember correctly, you also got stuck about halfway up the
Yes it started raining. I did not want to climb on this day, but this was the fault of my sponsors. I was there for six days before, and they were paying for me to stay in downtown
So after your attempt, you were arrested and charged?
Yes, the people from
Are there any other buildings you would have liked to climb in
Yes there is a couple. Big Ben would be nice, but would cause problems. The Obelisk looks nice, but is not possible. I looked at it when it was being constructed, and it is not possible. The response of the authorities seems to vary greatly, depending on which country you are in.
I understand that you have it pretty easy in
In
Where was the worst jail you’ve ever stayed in?
Probably
How about the nicest?
Probably
That was for your
Yes. The bad part was I climbed the part of the bridge that was owned by
Have you ever used suction cups for buildings with no holds on them?
I used them once in
But the pads are better if you are able to push in while you move. It’s better to move with little steps. If you try to make a big step, then you are having some difficulty to push the suction cup. But you know, more and more people are asking me to climb buildings which are completely impossible. Like in
Does dust pose a problem when free climbing?
Yes it can make it slippery. Sometimes, if I am climbing a building legally, I will ask them to clean the building. Or at least clean the section that I will be climbing. Heat can also make things slippery. I was climbing in
How about the cold, have you ever lost feeling in your fingers?
For me the cold is not much of a problem. Cold with wind is a problem, because I cannot warm up my hands. For me -20 degree with wind is worse than -40 degrees. I had this problem once when I was in
Those bastards. I planned on making a “Climb Buildings – Before They’re all Gone” sticker, but decided to go with the simpler version of “Climb Buildings”. [I give Alain a handful of the stickers]. You know this is a great idea, I like it. For sure I am going to use them. On my next ascent in
What do you do for training?
I have a climbing wall in my house that I practice on. It goes up one wall, across the ceiling, and down the other. I used to be able to do three one finger pull ups! But for something like that you need to train all the time. My son has bigger muscles than me, and he teases me, but I can still climb harder than him, so it doesn’t matter.
Your family climbs as well?
My sons climb a little, but they aren’t very motivated. Once they realized that what I was doing was dangerous, they decided to take another path. I try not to force anything on anybody.
Do you climb with anybody else?
No not really anymore. I used to climb with friends, but most of them died in mountaineering accidents. These days I don’t really keep in touch with climbers.
Have you ever had anything break off a building?
No not really. I check the building. I knock on the surface. You can tell if it’s good or not.
How about Dynoing, has the need ever arisen where you needed to jump to the next hold?
You know the building in
In general, how long does it take you to climb a building?
Anywhere from 20 minutes to 4 hours. I spent four hours on 101 building in
I know that many people in the rock climbing community challenge the validity of your buildering achievements, have you ever considered going on a rock-climbing soloing spree, just to silence the doubters?
I don’t care what they think; many of these climbers are very close minded people. But you know I asked Lynn Hill if it would be possible to solo The Nose of El Capitan. I was worried that the great roof would be too hard. She said that it was a pitch after the Great Roof that was the hardest [the Changing Corners pitch, 5.13+], and would be very hard to solo. I think that perhaps this would be something for the next millennium.
What buildering projects do you have planned for the future?
I plan on climbing a building in
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His greatest success so far: the National Bank of Abu Dhabi with over 100,000 spectators (shown BELOW), which he climbed on
posted by multidimid at 3:43 PM
2 Comments:
Really long and details about alain robert. He is really good in "climbing" o..spiderman
Lots of great pics too!
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