Climbing a building without any rope or safety equipment takes guts and skills. On May 3, a man scaled San Francisco's 1,070-foot-tall Salesforce Tower with just his hands and feet. His name is Maison DesChamps, and he describes himself as a "Pro-Life Spider-Man."
After successfully climbing the 61-story building, one of the tallest buildings in the United States, DeChamps was arrested. This wasn't the first time an urban daredevil has free solo climbed a building in a death-defying stunt.
See how the Salesforce Tower free solo climb compares to the tallest building free solo climbs in urban daredevil history.
Maison DesChamps, 22, Began Climbing the Skyscraper Around 9 A.M. People Spotted Him Soon After That and Alerted Police.
witzshared / Twitter
All He Brought Was a Bag of Chalk, Climbing Shoes, Patience and Focus. His Motivation? Don't Fall.
There's a Difference Between Free Climbing and Free Solo Climbing. Free Climbers Can Have a Rope to Protect Them From a Fall (If Necessary), But the Rope Doesn't Have Help Them Climb. Free Solo Climbers Climb Without a Rope, Harness or Any Safety Equipment. They Could Fall to the Ground at Any Time With One Wrong Move.
Here's more about free climbing vs. free solo climbing.
After 10 a.m., the 'Pro-Life Spider-Man' Reached the Top of the Salesforce Tower, Which Opened in 2018 and Is One of the Tallest Buildings in the United States. 'Congratulations. Great Job. Now You're Under Arrest.'
PopCrave / Twitter
For Some Context, One World Trade Center in New York City Is the Tallest Building in America (and North America) and the Seventh-Tallest Building in the World. It Is 1,776 Feet Tall.
Matthew Bellemare / Wikimedia Commons
San Franciscans Walking on the Street Below the Salesforce Tower Climber Could Not Believe Their Eyes. 'What Is Going On, Bro? This Is Insane.'
It Was Not Your Average Tuesday Morning at the Salesforce Tower Office.
The Free Solo Climber Was Happy to Provide a Little Unscheduled Entertainment.
No Big Deal. He Even Found Time to Give Play-by-Play During His Ascent.
The Internet Did What the Internet Does Best and Brought Some Jokes.
They Reminded Us That Life Moves Pretty Fast. It's Good to Slow Down So We Don't Miss It.
Legendary French Rock Climber and Urban Climber Alain Robert, aka the 'French Spider-Man,' Was the Inspiration for the Salesforce Tower Climber.
Robert Is an Old Free Climbing Pro Who Started Free Solo Rock Climbing in the 1980s.
Robert Has Free Soloed Over 160 Buildings and Monuments in Over 70 Countries Around the World. Often With No Ropes, No Safety Net, and Illegally.
This Is Alain Robert Climbing the Empire State Building (1,454 Feet) in 1994.
Robert Also Has Climbed the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House, and the Burj Khalifa.
Benh LIEU SONG / Wikimedia Commons
The Burj Khalifa Is the Tallest Structure and Building in the World at 2,722 Feet.
Robert Climbed the Burj Khalifa in a Little Over Six Hours in 2011. He Wore a Safety Harness for This Climb to Comply With Safety Regulations.
Donaldytong / Wikipedia
"I know that sometimes there may be some specific requirements," Alain Robert told Reuters before the climb, the BBC reported. "I do understand. You know, this is such an iconic building so I can understand that even though they are taking care so much about my precious life, they are also taking care a lot of that precious Burj Khalifa."
Even Alex Honnold, the World's Best Free Solo Climber, Has Nothing But Respect for Alain Robert.
Honnold Is the Star of 'Free Solo,' the Pro Rock Climber Who Conquered the First Free Solo Climb of Famed El Capitan's 2,953-Foot Vertical Rock Face at Yosemite National Park.
Here's Alex Honnold Pushing the Limits With Some Urban Ascents in San Francisco.
They Don't Call Alain Robert the 'Human Spider' for Nothing.
Alain Robert turns 60 in 2022 and has no plans of slowing down.
You're Never Too Young to Start Free Solo Climbing.
You Just Can't Be Scared of Heights.
Not Suitable for Those With Acrophobia (Fear of Heights). The Four Greatest Free Solo Climbs of All Time
4. Alain Robert — Cayan Tower, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
3. Brett Harrington — Chiaro di Luna, Italy
2. Hansjorg Auer — Via Attraverso il Pesce, Italy
1. Alex Honnold — El Capitan, Yosemite, California, United States
Geoffrey Winthrop Young Is Regarded as the Original Pioneer of Climbing Buildings and Other Artificial Structures, or Buildering.
Buildering Combines the Word 'Building' With the Climbing Term 'Bouldering.' Buildering Is Also Known As Edificeering, Urban Climbing, Structuring, Skywalking, Boulding or Stegophily.
Stride Health / YouTube
This Is What the Early Days of Buildering Looked Like. Some Night Climbing at the University of Cambridge.
Young Was a Great Alpinist and Climbed the Roofs of University of Cambridge in England in 1895. He Also Wrote Some Famous Books on Mountaineering.
One of Young's Books Young Was Called 'The Roof-Climber's Guide to Trinity.' Written in 1899, the Book Was a Humorous Parody of Early Alpine Guidebooks and Offered Advice for Climbers on How to Climb the Buildings Around Trinity College in Cambridge, England, What They Called the College Alps.
Harry H. Gardiner Began Buildering in 1905 and Climbed Over 700 Buildings in Europe and North America Without Any Special Equipment.
Evening Public Ledger / Wikimedia Commons
George Polley Started Climbing in 1910. In 1920, He Was Arrested While Climbing the Woolworth Building at the 30th Floor, With 27 Floors to Go. Polley Ended Up Climbing Over 2,000 Buildings in His Life.
Aude / Wikimedia Commons
Many More Climbers Continued Climbing Buildings Through the Decades. In 1977, George Willig Climbed the South Tower of the World Trade Center (1,362 Feet) in New York City.
Jeffmock / Wikipedia
In the 1980s, Dan Goodwin Scaled Many of the World's Tallest Buildings, Including the World Trade Center, the Sears Tower (1,450 Feet), the John Hancock Center (1,128 Feet) and the Canadian National Tower (1,815 Feet).
Chris6d / Wikimedia Commons
Many Urban Explorers Have Climbed to Insane Heights.
Free Solo Climbers Are a Different Breed
Climber News has a great article on free soloing — the act of climbing without any rope, harness or safety equipment. The article is called "Free Soloists: The Climbers Who Risk It All."
It answers every question you might have about the dangerous sport and profiles the best free solo climbers in the world of the past century. Check it out.
And check Climber News on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all the latest climbing news and videos in the climbing world.
The Salesforce Tower Free Climber Is the Latest Free Climber to Climb to Insane Heights.
Why Did He Climb California's Tallest Tower? The Anti-Abortion Activist Hopes to Raise $1 Million to Support Anti-Abortion Charities and 'Save Lives.'
Not Everyone Was Happy After They Found Out He Was a Pro-Life Activist Making an Anti-Abortion Statement With His Free Climb.
He Turned Into Hans Gruber, the 'Die Hard' Villain at Nakatomi Plaza, Faster Than You Can Say, 'Yippee Ki Yay ....'
The Show's Over, Folks.
Just Another Day in the Simulation.
You Can Never Be Too Sure.
Tune in Tomorrow. Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel.
In the immortal words of Hunter S. Thompson: "No sympathy for the devil. Keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride ... and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well ... maybe chalk it up to forced consciousness expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten."
Now How Far Would You Go to Take a Selfie?
angela_nikolau / Instagram