Spiderman to Scale World's Tallest Building (Like he would)

[j.m@talk]

TAIPEI (Reuters) - French "Spiderman" Alain Robert, a dare-devil climbing ace, plans to scale the world's tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101, in the Taiwan capital on Christmas Day, the building's management said Friday.
Robert, who has conquered the world's most renowned landmarks with his bare hands including the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower, will climb the 101-story Taipei office tower Saturday to kick off celebrations to mark its opening on Dec. 31.

The 42-year-old Frenchman will begin his ascent at 9:45 a.m. and is expected to reach the top of the 1,667-foot tower in about 2.5 hours, said Taipei 101's management.

The $1.7 billion Taipei 101 last year surpassed the twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, which Robert has also scaled, as the world's tallest building.

The shopping mall at the base of Taipei 101 has already opened for business. The gleaming office tower is designed to resemble a bamboo stalk and is equipped with the world's fastest lifts.

Robert has scaled more than 30 well-known structures including the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Sydney Opera House, often without permission or any safety equipment or ropes.

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.

[mireland]

well......good luck to the tosser...