This Is an Alternative Way to Celebrate Turning 60

'Spider-Man' Alain Robert celebrated his milestone by scaling a 48-story building with no gear
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 19, 2022 1:36 AM CDT
Updated Sep 19, 2022 4:06 AM CDT
'Spider-Man' Climbs 48-Story Building With No Safety Gear
French urban climber Alain Robert, well known as "Spiderman", climbs up the 179-meters (587,27-foot) Total tower at La Defense business district in Paris, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. Before climbing, Alain Robert, who celebrates his 60th birthday this year, said he wanted to call attention to climate...   (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Alain Robert, the daredevil known as France's "Spider-Man," celebrated his 60th birthday in a way that, for most people, would be considered a bit unconventional: He scaled a 48-story skyscraper with no safety gear. Then, as some people might celebrate their 21st birthday, according to local reports, he was arrested. "I want to send people the message that being 60 years old is nothing. You can still do sport, be active, do fabulous things," Robert told Reuters, noting that 60 is considered retirement age in France, per the BBC. He climbed the 613-foot-tall Tour TotalEnergies building in the Défense business district in Paris, which he's done multiple times before, in just one hour. "I promised myself several years ago that when I reached 60, I would climb that tower again," he said.

Robert has been arrested before, as he usually makes his climbs without permission. Among his feats: scaling Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest building on the planet; the Eiffel Tower; and the Golden Gate Bridge, the Guardian reports. Those are among the more than 150 structures he's climbed in a free solo career that dates back to the 1970s. He uses just climbing shoes, chalk, and his bare hands. This time around, he said he also wanted to raise awareness of the need to take action on climate change. (More Alain Robert stories.)

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