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Climber Trains by Soloing Over Knives

Alain Robert has written several books about training for bold free-solos

Alain Robert is one of the world’s most accomplished free-soloists, he’s often referred to in mainstream media as the Human Spider. Robert has climbed several of the world’s tallest building, including the Burj Khalifa, Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House and the Montparnasse Tower. He’s also free-soloed up to 5.13+, watch below.

He recently shared a video of himself climbing over a table of upward-facing knives, which he said he does as training. He’s written five books about climbing and mental preparation over the past few decades.

About his free-soloing career, he said in a Forbes interview, “Learning to free-solo is 10,000 times more challenging than climbing with a rope. This desire has to come from something from your heart, from your will. I started to climb when I was young and there was no media or YouTube. I spent almost 20 years climbing mountains before I began urban climbs. For five years, I was doing rock climbs that were completely insane. I eventually was hired by a watch company to climb buildings.”

5.13+ Free-Solo

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