The Real Spiderman

By - 325 words

Language

Reading Level

Listen to Article

lain Robert with his victory pose upon successfully scaling the Singapore Flyer (Photo Credit: By Lioneldude CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Meet Alain Robert, the real Spiderman. Like the other superhero, Alain likes to climb tall structures. However, he doesn't need to cast a web in order to climb - he does it with his bare hands.

Alain's climbing career began at the age of 12 when he forgot the keys to his apartment on the eighth floor. Too impatient to wait for his parents to return, he decided to climb the exterior of the building and get in from the patio.

At the age of 19 and 20 he suffered two significant falls, breaking several bones. Doctors told him he was sixty percent handicapped and could never climb again. However, six months later Alain was climbing again.

Alain climbing Climbing the Agbar Tower in Spain
(Photo Credit: By Mutari (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

Over the years, Alain has climbed many famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Opera House in Sydney. He has also scaled some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world including the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia and the Sears Tower in the USA, which ended up being one of his most challenging climbs. Nearing the top of the 110-story building, Alain encountered thick fog that covered the glass and metal wall of the last 20 floors with moisture, making it very slippery. Slowly and steadily, he managed to overcome it and get to the top.

While Alain has a huge fan following throughout the world, he is not very popular with the police, since what he does is so dangerous. He, therefore, has to be very secretive about which building he is going to conquer next. He simply shows up early in the morning and starts climbing. So the next time you are walking near a tall building, make sure you look around - Spiderman may be in town!

Meanwhile, enjoy the two videos of this amazing man, the first one is a recent climb he did in London, which got him arrested, and the other, a slightly older but equally amazing climb in France.

Sources: Wikipedia.org, alainrobert.com

Cite Article
Geography
221 Comments
  • wraelynalmost 10 years
    that is inpossible he could die he is seting a bad example to children
    • Awsome 5.0almost 10 years
      That would make my day!
    • booklover51299
      booklover51299almost 10 years
      omg i would never ever do that and im 12!! That kid must really like Spiderman!!
      • 090509
        090509almost 10 years
        i would be so scary
        • Awsome 5.0almost 10 years
          That's what I wanted to do when I was little dress up like Spiderman and climb buildings!
          • izzy10can
            izzy10canalmost 10 years
            Legit
            • Izzyalmost 10 years
              AWESOME!!!!
              • Awsome 5.0almost 10 years
                I wonder what the people inside thought!
                • google.comalmost 10 years
                  i wonder how the people in the building were like seeing a man climb that. i can just see that happening at someone's work today
                  • Awsome 5.0almost 10 years
                    If your wondering how he got down, when he was getting ready he packed a rope too