‘French Spiderman’ Climbs Paris Skyscraper to Mark Turning 60

"French Spiderman", climber Alain Robert, climbs the TotalEnergies skyscraper in La Defense near Paris, France September 17, 2022. (Reuters)
"French Spiderman", climber Alain Robert, climbs the TotalEnergies skyscraper in La Defense near Paris, France September 17, 2022. (Reuters)
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‘French Spiderman’ Climbs Paris Skyscraper to Mark Turning 60

"French Spiderman", climber Alain Robert, climbs the TotalEnergies skyscraper in La Defense near Paris, France September 17, 2022. (Reuters)
"French Spiderman", climber Alain Robert, climbs the TotalEnergies skyscraper in La Defense near Paris, France September 17, 2022. (Reuters)

Alain Robert, the free climber dubbed the "French Spiderman", scaled a 48-storey skyscraper in Paris on Saturday, fulfilling a goal he had set for himself once he reached the age of 60.

Dressed in red, Robert raised his arms aloft as he reached the top of the 187-meter (613-foot) Tour TotalEnergies building, which towers over the French capital's La Defense business district.

"I want to send people the message that being 60 is nothing. You can still do sport, be active, do fabulous things," said Robert, whose 60th birthday was last month.

"I promised myself several years ago that when I reached 60, I would climb that tower again because 60 symbolizes retirement age in France and I thought that was a nice touch," he told Reuters.

Robert, who also wanted to use the climb to raise awareness about the need for climate change action, had already climbed the TotalEnergies tower on numerous occasions.

He began climbing in 1975, training on the cliffs near his hometown of Valence in southern France. He took up solo climbing in 1977 and rapidly became a top climber.

Since then, he has climbed more than 150 towering structures around the world including Dubai's Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building, the Eiffel Tower, and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.

Often climbing without permission, he has been arrested repeatedly. He climbs without a harness, using only his bare hands, a pair of climbing shoes, and a bag of powdered chalk to wipe off the sweat.



NASA's Stuck Astronaut Steps Out on a Spacewalk after 7 Months in Orbit

FILE PHOTO: The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the NASA/SpaceX launch of a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the NASA/SpaceX launch of a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
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NASA's Stuck Astronaut Steps Out on a Spacewalk after 7 Months in Orbit

FILE PHOTO: The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the NASA/SpaceX launch of a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center ahead of the NASA/SpaceX launch of a commercial crew mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo

One of NASA’s two stuck astronauts got a much welcomed change of scenery Thursday, stepping out on her first spacewalk since arriving at the International Space Station more than seven months ago.

Suni Williams, the station's commander, had to tackle some overdue outdoor repair work alongside NASA's Nick Hague. They emerged as the orbiting lab sailed 260 miles (420 kilometers) above Turkmenistan, The AP reported.

“I'm coming out,” Williams radioed.

Plans called for Williams to float back out next week with Butch Wilmore. Williams and Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule last June on what should have been a weeklong test flight.

But Starliner trouble dragged out their return, and NASA ordered the capsule to come back empty. Then SpaceX delayed the launch of their replacements, meaning the two won’t be home until late March or early April — ten months after launching.

It was the first spacewalk by NASA astronauts since an aborted one last summer. U.S. spacewalks were put on hold after water leaked into the airlock from the cooling loop for an astronaut's suit. NASA said the problem has been fixed.

This was the eighth spacewalk for Williams, who has lived on the space station before.