WHAT IT IS Climbing unaided up the Paris landmark
WHY YOU WON’T DO IT Most of us don’t have that kind of head for heights
In the world of climbing, ‘free soloing’ is about as difficult and dangerous as it gets. Regular climbers may call upon all manner of ropes and specialist equipment to aid their ascents. Free climbers, meanwhile, only use kit to safeguard against falls. Soloing, though, allows for no equipment at all.
The discipline when practised on man-made structures is also known as ‘buildering’. Quite when the daredevil art began is unknown, though there is a strong case to identify the British climber and author Geoffrey Winthrop Young as its spiritual founder – he left detailed records of his jaunts up the various buildings of Cambridge University in the late 19th century.
Common sense will tell you that free soloing is not something to be approached lightly. In fact, it should not be practised by anybody who is not a highly experienced and skilled traditional climber: this is not a sport for beginners. Great climbers are likely to have a strong back, a vice-like grip and great coordination. They will also be masters of advanced climbing techniques – skills that have become instinctive through thousands of hours of practice.
For those who feel ready to take on the challenge, free soloing is as much about maintaining concentration and achieving the necessary frame of mind as it is about physical prowess. The lack of safety equipment means that there is no room for error. The chances are that if you fall, you will fall only once – and over the years, the sport has claimed the lives of several of its most famous practitioners. Pushing at your own limits is all well and good, but only the most reckless climber would take on a challenge without knowing if it is within his or her capabilities. Responsible soloists climb routes that they already know they have the skills to complete. That is to say, they climb within their limits. Indeed, they may well have previously climbed a proposed route with safety equipment in order to map out and understand the particular challenges it presents.
So why target the Eiffel Tower in particular? It is by no means the tallest structure in the world, nor necessarily the most challenging to scale. It is, however, an icon, and as such has tempted several climbers over the years. Designed by Gustave Eiffel for the World’s Fair held in Paris in 1889, the Tower is the most visited paying visitor attraction in the world. An external climb is certainly one way of avoiding the lengthy queues that can often be seen snaking from the ticket booths.
However, free solo climbing up the 273 metres (896 ft) to the top floor without authorization is against the law. Anyone who does it can expect to be rewarded with a prompt arrest and quite probably a fine or even a jail sentence. In November 2007, English climber Mike Robertson was arrested a little over 200 metres (656 ft) into an ascent of the Tower, which he said he was making to bring attention to the plight of the Burmese people. Starting at the Tower’s southeast foot, he had spent some 50 minutes climbing, and a further 20 minutes hiding from the authorities.
Perhaps the most famous climber to have ascended the Tower, however, is Alain Robert, also known as the French Spiderman. He made his Eiffel ascent in the late 1990s, adding it to a list of conquests that includes the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (see page 12).
Most of Robert’s ascents have been illegal, and he typically catches security off their guard by beginning at around dawn, but he has also been paid to scale various buildings for publicity purposes (for instance, the six-hour Burj Khalifa climb was officially sanctioned – and Robert did agree to use a harness to meet safety requirements). Rumour has it that the owners of The Shard in London, currently the tallest building in western Europe, have put an injunction in place to prevent the Spiderman from getting too close.
For anyone brave, or perhaps foolhardy, enough to join the select group of Eiffel Tower climbers, there are a few basic tips to take on board:
• Invest in the best-quality climbing shoes you can afford.
• Carry a bag of climbing chalk on your person to keep your hands dry and improve your grip.
• Await good weather conditions – the climb will be hard enough at the best of times. Rain or, heaven forbid, ice, will make it all but impossible.
• Finally, take your time. Rush and you’ll probably be hurrying to your end.
OFF THE SCALE Alain Robert scaled the Eiffel Tower on New Year’s Eve in 1996, later describing its famous iron framework as ‘nothing but a big ladder’. Here, he is seen in 2007 preparing for the more challenging ascent of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa – some three times the height of the famous Parisian landmark.
