28.02.2008

Apesar da detenção por policiais militares sob alegação não tinha autorização para escalar o Edifício Itália, a sensação ao presenciar a chegada do alpinista francês Alain Robert ao terraço após a façanha era de que não houve muito esforço para impedir a aventura. Leia a íntegra

Alain Robert caminha tranqüilamente para ser preso. Fotos: Márcia Nachbar

I watched an amazing documentary last night on Channel 4 – “The Human Spider Returns”. It was about a French solo climber (i.e. a climber who does not use any safety ropes, etc) called Alain Robert. He challenges himself to climb the world’s tallest buildings, using no other equipment than his climbing shoes and some chalk dust!

In the documentary he finally climbed the one building that had beaten him twice before, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur (that’s a mere 452 metres!!!).

Also, this is a man who suffers from vertigo, and has had accidents over his career that have left him disabled up to 66%. One accident damaged his head so much he now suffers from epilepsy.

Sounds unbelievable, I know, but this guy is for real. He is living proof that the human body (& mind) can achieve the seemingly impossible. If we ever need inspiration to help us achieve our goals when the going gets tough, Alain Robert is a great example.

In his words: “We set ourselves limits, but we are all strong enough to aim higher, to achieve our goals. All we have to do is find such strength within ourselves. Know how to develop it.”

Check the ‘human spider’ out at his website.

French "Spiderman" Alain Robert climbs Malaysia's Petronas Towers

Alain Robert, 47, used the cover of pre-dawn darkness to avoid detection from security guards at the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers, and reached the top floor in around an hour and 45 minutes.

“I did try twice to climb, and climbing to the top is one of my dreams. It’s a bit like a love story, not only about climbing the tallest building to make it official… but about completing something unfinished,” Robert told Reuters ahead of the climb.

Robert reached the top of a spire at the peak of Tower 2 of the iconic twin buildings which houses state oil firm Petronas, then climbed down to an observation platform before being led inside by security personnel.

A police official told a Reuters photographer that Robert was later arrested and is being held at a police station. It is not known whether he will be charged for anything.

Robert has climbed over 80 buildings around the world, including the Eiffel Tower, London’s Canary Wharf building, New York’s Empire State Building and Chicago’s Sear’s Tower.

In 2004 he fended off stormy weather to climb the world’s tallest building, Taipei 101, in Taiwan’s capital.

“As a young boy I was afraid of heights and lacked self confidence,” said Robert.

Via Digg he encontrado una pequeña colección de fotografías del escalador francés Alain Robert, ha salido en la TV muchas veces escalando edificios y monumentos emblemáticos.

Alain Robert

Las fotografías en el Telegraph y en la wikipedia aparecen todos los edificios que ha escalado con sus correspondientes alturas.

The French climber, known as Spiderman, has climbed one of the world’s tallest buildings in Malaysia on his third attempt. Alain Robert, 47, picked up the name because of his ability to climb amazing buildings all over the world, using no safety equipment. It took him over two hours to complete his ascent of the 88-storey Tower Two of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. He was arrested for trespassing on completing the feat.

spiderman climbs one of tallest buildings on earth

Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia @ 2/09/2009:  French “Spiderman” Alain Robert was arrested after successfully scaling the Petronas Twin Towers, in his third attempt on the nation’s tallest structure.

The 46-year-old began climbing one of the 88-storey towers before dawn and reached the top before being discovered by security officials.

Police have taken him back to the police station for questioning and checking his passport. He can be charged for criminal trespass … He climbed the building without a permit from the management,police said.

Robert, clad in a black shirt and trousers, celebrated his ascent by standing with his arms outspread on the pinnacle of one of the towers, as a helicopter circled in the misty early morning.

French ‘spiderman’ Alain Robert raising his hands while standing on the tip of the 88- storey Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. It was his third attempt at doing so. A helicopter circled around the tower as Robert got to the top. The celebrations turned awry later when police arrested him.

Eyewitnesses said he took less than two hours to complete the climb, and then fixed a Malaysian flag on top of the building which is home to Petronas as well as many international companies.

“He climbed using his bare hands and reached the top very fast … as no security personnel noticed him or stopped him,” said Ee Wee Kiat, a cameraman who was filming the scene from the ground.

Robert first tried to scale the building on March 20, 1997, and made a second unsuccessful attempt in 2007, after which he was freed without charge. Each time he reached the 60th storey before being intercepted by authorities.

Robert has been nicknamed “Spiderman” for his high-profile escapades including climbing the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

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‘Spidey’ fined RM2,000 for trespassing Petronas Twin Towers

KUALA LUMPUR: French “Spiderman” Robert Alain Philippe was fined RM2,000 after he pleaded guilty to criminal trespass for scaling the Petronas Twin Towers.

The 47-year-old was fined the amount in default of two months jail at the KL magistrate’s court on Wednesday.

The fine was set by magistrate Siti Shakirah Mohtaruddin after he pled guilty to criminally trespassing a building belonging to Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre at Jalan Ampang here, a crime punishable under Section 447 of the Penal Code.

French “Spiderman” Robert Alain Philippe let off with a fine of RM2,000.

He scaled Tower 2 of the Twin Towers at about 8.30am on Tuesday in his third attempt to conquer the building, and succeeded about two hours later.

Dressed in dark grey pants and a teal jacket, he was brought into the dock in handcuffs.

His lawyer Wong Kian Kheong, in pleading for a lower sentence, told the court that Philippe was only climbing out of passion.

“Everyone has a passion and my client’s passion is to climb tall buildings.

“He is not doing so for profit or publicity, he has caused no injury to the complainant, nor has he caused any damage to the property,” he said.

Wong added that his client had decided not to climb anymore buildings in the city so there was no fear of a repetition of his crime.

“He has a ticket to fly back to Paris on Sept 7,” he said.

He added Philippe, a father of three children aged 16. 19 and 22, had also climbed for charity previously and had trained Malaysian fire fighters.

He also said the court should also take into consideration the fact that his client was certified as 60% disabled by French medical authorities, as a result of his climbing accidents.

Siti Shakirah, in handing down her ruling, said no custodial sentence was imposed as he was a first time offender.

“Spiderman” first tried to scale the building on March 20, 1997, and made a second unsuccessful attempt in 2007, after which he was freed without charge. Each time he reached the 60th storey before being intercepted by authorities.

He told reporters that he was “very happy” and that he was eyeing Dubai next.

Alain Robert

Witnesses said it took Alain Robert, 47, just over two hours to complete his ascent of the 88-storey Tower Two of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

He has scaled many of the tallest buildings, using no safety equipment.

Mr Robert was reported to have been arrested for trespassing on completing the feat.

Mr Robert began his climb of the 452m (1,483ft) tower before dawn, after apparently eluding security, and reached the top by 0730 local time.

Once there, he unfurled a Malaysian flag and waved his arms in celebration.

“He climbed using his bare hands and reached the top very fast as no security personnel noticed him or stopped him,” said Ee Wee Kiat, a cameraman who filmed the ascent.

‘A bit stubborn’

It was Mr Robert’s third attempt to conquer the Petronas Towers, the third tallest building in the world.

On both previous occasions – in March 1997 and again in 2007 – he was arrested on reaching the 60th floor but released without charge.

Previous climbs have often ended with Mr Robert's arrest for trespassing

“Climbing the Petronas all the way to the top is one of my dreams,” he said, describing himself as determined but also “a little bit stubborn”.

Mr Robert was reported to have been detained by Malaysian police as he went back into the building on the 88th floor.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Muhammad Sabtu Osman said he could be charged with criminal trespass.

“He climbed the building without a permit from the management,” he told the AFP news agency.

Mr Robert has climbed more than 70 buildings in his career, always without ropes, and has had several serious falls, resulting in fractures and operations.

In February this year, he scaled the 62-storey Cheung Kong Centre in Hong Kong to draw attention to the issue of climate change.

He has also conquered the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which at the time was the tallest in the world.

MORE HERE
SOURCE: BBC News

Today in Malaysia, whilst the majority of the Western world was barely stirring from their slumber and hundreds of Mr. Coffee’s were performing their daily vigil, one man stood as a very tiny colossus astride one of the needles on the Petronas Twin Towers. This man was Alain Robert and needless to say, crazy—but just that kind of crazy that we here at Potential admire. So without further ado, let’s all compare our lives to this French dude who regularly scales 1,000ft+ structures without rope and perhaps even, before breakfast.

First it’s important to understand the Petronas Twin Towers. Here is a picture for your reference:

No big deal, right?

From top to bottom the PTT are 452 meters tall. That’s 35 meters taller than the former World Trade Center. That’s also 1,483 feet straight up, without harnesses or ropes. Now for some people this would be a once in a lifetime achievement, a permanent Facebook profile picture, the first sentence of their obituary—but for Alain Robert this is just one of seventy buildings he has climbed in his life. Alain Robert climbs buildings more often than the average American flies in a plane. Some would call it one of his hobbies.

For comparison:

Other people's hobbies...

Alain Robert's hobby.

Alain has been buildering ever since he was 12 and got locked out of his parents eighth story apartment in Digoin, France.  He has done multiple ascents dressed in a Spider-Man costume (after his nickname as “the French Spider-Man) and has only suffered a few major falls. At the age of twenty he fell 50 feet and fractured both forearms, his elbow, pelvis, and nose. The doctors called him 60% handicapped and probably disabled for the rest of his life. The fall put him in a five day coma and because of brain damage he now suffers from vertigo.

Yeah, you heard me, vertigo. The dude gets dizzy and his mind starts making the world spin when he gets up to high. In some cases vertigo can make people unable to walk, in other cases it makes Alfred Hitchcock famous, in Alain Robert’s case it was just another obstacle to climb. You know that saying that the the only reason the bumblebee flies because no one has told him he can’t? Well no one told Robert’s particular brand of crazy that he was handicapped.

He’s got a book out and is regularly arrested after or during his ascents which are usually not pre-arranged by anyone but Alain Robert’s crazyness. Because of that his ascents are typically fast, unnaccompanied, and start out around the same time your local barista is dragging themself out of bed.

Robert has attempted to climb the Petronas Towers twice before in 1997 and 2007. Both times he attracted police attention and was asked to turn himself over to be arrested before completing the climb. Both times he complied and turned himself over to be arrested on the 60th floor. Not to be deterred and understanding the need for brevity in his ascent his third and first full ascent started just before dawn and took only two hours to complete. He then promptly turned himself in to the Malaysian authorities who were waiting to arrest him.

“With due respect to Malaysia,” he said to a Reuters before starting the climb ”I came to finish something.”

The next time someone asks you ’sup? Just remember: the answer is probably Alain Robert.

Alain Robert, cunoscut ca “Spiderman”, a dat lovitura. Francezul, care s-a catarat pe cele mai inalte cladiri ale lumii, a reusit din a treia incercare sa escaladeze celebrele Turnuri Petronas din Kuala Lumpur.

Alain Robert are in “palmares” 80 de cladiri pe care le-a escaladat, printre care Turnul Eiffel, Golden Gate Bridge din San Francisco, Empire State din New York.

This is a little bit old, but back in the April 20 issue of the New Yorker, Lauren Collins wrote “The Vertical Tourist”, a piece on Alain Robert, the Frenchman who likes climbing skyscrapers. Robert is one of these people that are obsessed with climbing tall New York buildings. At some point Collins writes about Robert and Renaldo Clarke, a computer technician, climbing the Times building last year. This is an excerpt from the article

The daredevils, in tandem, irritated civic officials. Mayor Bloomberg pronounced them “stupid”. Peter Vallone, Jr., a city councilman who is the chairman of the city’s Public Safety Committee, suggested that Robert add “the walls of his jail cell at Rikers” to his list of conquests.  (…) Five weeks later, a third man attempted to climb the building.  He stalled at the eleventh floor. At his arraignment, a judge said, “If you want to kill yourself, find some nice quiet bridge in Connecticut in some hick town”

From a year ago, 2 men scale New York Times building - a great way to see the city.

Alain Robert scales buildings with his bare hands.

De aceasta mediatizare a tinerei de 33 de ani a profitat rapid si un producator de filme pentru adulti, care ii ii ofera mamicii nu mai putin de un milion de dolari pentru a juca intr-un film porno, anunta tmz.com.
Se pare ca barbatul se straduieste din rasputeri sa o convinga pe Nadia sa accepte contractul, oferindu-i chiar si asigurari medicale si stomatologice pentru intreaga familie.

Fotbalistii
transferati din Romania traverseaza mai multe paradisuri fiscale
inainte de a ajunge in iadul bancii de rezerve a clubului care a platit
milioane de euro pentru achizitionarea sa.

Dupa ani de anchete si schimb de informatii intre procurorii DNA si
autoritatile fiscale din alte tari, a fost trimis in instanta dosarul
“Transferuri“, care are astazi un nou termen la Tribunalul Bucuresti,
unde a fost retrogradat de la Inalta Curte ca urmare a faptului ca
George Copos a pierdut calitatea de parlamentar.

Conform rechizitoriului, impresarii Victor si Ioan Becali, cu
complicitatea directa a presedintilor de cluburi si tacita a
autoritatilor fotbalistice, au driblat impozitele catre stat si
contabilitatea societatilor sportive, alimentandu-si conturile
personale dupa ce banii, ca un alergator la maraton, se plimbau prin
mai multe conturi ale unor firme din Olanda sau din Insulele Virgine
Britanice.

Criza economica generalizata ar putea strica insa mecanismul prin care
fratii Becali si-au sporit averea in detrimentul cluburilor si al
bugetului de stat.

Reuniti la Berlin pentru a pregati Summitul G-20 de la Londra, liderii
europeni din Franta, Germania, Marea Britanie, Franta, Italia, Spania
si Olanda au luat in discutie “paradisurile fiscale“ care sunt un
adevarat pericol “sistemic“.

“Ne gandim la sanctiuni mai dure pentru a ne proteja de pericolele care
vin din aceste jurisdictii necooperante, adica aceste paradisuri
fiscale“, s-a precizat intr-un comunicat, citat de “Le Monde“,
presedintele francez Nicolas Sarkozy adaugand: “Un regulament fara
sanctiuni nu se poate“.

Alain Robert, también conocido como “el hombre araña francés” y famoso a nivel mundial por su afán por trepar los rascacielos de todo el mundo. Su última proeza fue escalar, sin equipo alguno, por la fachada de uno de las torres mas altas de Hong Kong, el conocido Cheung Kong Center, en medio del distrito financiero de esa ciudad. Luego de completar dicha hazaña, el intrépido francés, fue demorado por las autoridades del lugar al culminar con su ascenso de 62 plantas en solo unos 40 minutos. Posteriormente se lo dio nuevamente la libertad sin cargos en su contra. Robert con 46 años, ya escalo el Cheung Kong en el mes de junio de 2005, pero previo a esto, en el año 2004 trepo el hotel Four Seasons.

Escalando el Cheung Kong Center:

Escalando el Four Season:

Alain Robert est un grimpeur, surnommé le “Spiderman Français” , il a escaladé Samedi 22 Novembre 2008 la Tour Totale à la Défense (Hauts-de-Seine). Il a par la suite été intercepté par la police. Cet homme de 46 ans est très célèbre pour ses ascensions illégales d’édifices urbains à mains nues. Sa première ascension eut lieu lorsqu’il n’avait que 11 ans. Il avait oublié ses clés en haut et il voulait rentrer, il lui a fallut escalader sept étages…

Depuis ce jour il a escaladé plus d’une centaine d’édifices, notamment la tour de la CityBank à Chicago. Il en est à la sixième ascension de cette tour qu’il vient tout juste de gravir, dont sa première fois date de 1994.

Sa prochaine escalade aura lieu au mois de Janvier, mais nous ne savons pas où. En revanche fin Mars 2010 il va escalader la Burj Dubaï (la plus haute tour du monde, en cours d’achèvement).

Pour plus de vidéo de cet homme qui n’a pas le vertige rendez-vous: ici