Man attempting to free-climb 1,600ft skyscraper live on Netflix reveals what will happen if he falls to death

Alex Honnold has addressed the possibility of him falling to his death while free-climbing a 1,600ft skyscraper in Taiwan.

Honnold is perhaps the world's most famous climber - with his solo ascent of California's El Capitan the subject of Oscar-winning film Free Solo - and how he is attempting another death-defying stunt for Netflix. Titled Skyscraper Live, Honnold will attempt to climb a skyscraper Taipei 101 while being live streamed across the world.

Not only will the 40-year-old climb the tower but he'll do it alone and without the use of ropes or any safety equipment, a type of rock climbing which is known as a free soloing.

Which it should be pretty obvious, but do not try this one at home.

Obviously the first question on anyone's mind after hearing that a person is going to climb a 1,600ft skyscraper without safety equipment is obviously 'what if you die' which is something that has also crossed Honnold's mind.

"No ropes, no gear. Just me and the building," Honnold says in the trailer, ominously added: "If you fall... You're gonna die."

What happens if Alex Honnold falls during Skyscraper Live?

Honnold's comments about dying in the trailer aren't just for dramatic effect, if the climber makes an error and falls, it will be fatal... unless he's extremely lucky in where he lands.

"On this particular building, that’s not even totally true because there are balconies every few floors," he explained to CNN ahead of the event.

"The geometry of the building, the shape of the building is such that you actually could fall in tons of places and not actually die, which makes it in some ways safer than a lot of rock-climbing objectives."

Which means Honnold's chances of death should an accident occur have gone from 'definitely' to 'most likely', which will be a small comfort to those anxiously watching along from their mobiles, laptops and television sets.

Unsurprisingly, the event has also drawn criticism and ethical concern, not only for him but also for his family.

The climber has acknowledged the very real dangers of his stunt (Netflix)

Honnold has been married Sanni McCandless since 2020 and the couple share two young daughters, marking a major change in his life since 2018's Free Solo.

"People question soloing now that he's a dad," McCandless acknowledges in the trailer, before going on to admit: "This is just who Alex is."

The question of how his death would impact McCandless and their two young daughters was something which was put to Honnold in an interview with New York Times, acknowledging that while it would be hard for McCandless, his young daughters would be unlikely to remember him.

"Baby Alice wouldn’t remember. Baby June probably wouldn’t remember. She’ll be 4 in another month," he said. "It’d be felt, and obviously it’d be super hard for Sanni, but they’d be well provided for. I don’t feel like I’d be leaving them in the lurch.

"They wouldn’t even necessarily be traumatized their whole lives."

Skyscraper Live will be broadcast on Netflix at 1am GMT on 24 January.