‘It was a very big moment in my life,’ said Mr Robert, 48, whose penchant for climbing skyscrapers has earned him the nickname Spiderman. But although he made his very public ascent up the 2,717ft Burj Khalifa tower look easy, it was almost brought to an untimely halt, he revealed. He had climbed up a central column to just 45ft from the top when he was hit by crippling thigh cramps.
Only determination saw him through. ‘I knew that it was nearly done, so there was no way to stop,’ he explained.
Only determination saw him through. ‘I knew that it was nearly done, so there was no way to stop,’ he explained.
As a crowd watched from below, he inched up the 160-floor building. Finally, Mr Robert reached the top of the antenna just after midnight. The climber, who is often arrested after his stunts, even deigned to use a safety harness this time – not part of his usual climbing attire. ‘It was a requirement from the government,’ he said. ‘I would have loved to do it differently, but I knew it was not possible.’
And he easily broke the nine-hour record for the fastest Burj climb. ‘I initially thought it would take between six to nine hours. It took me by surprise that I could make it quite fast.’
After such a feat, it was only a shock he took the lift down...
The 48-year-old from Digoin, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, has now scaled all of the world's tallest buildings. In 2004 he climbed up Taipei 101 in Taipei, which measures 1,667ft, on the day it opened. He had three tries at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The first and second attempts, in 1997 and 2007 respectively, he was arrested on the 60th floor. In 2009 he managed to slip the guards and scaled the 1,483ft building. In 1999 Robert managed to reach the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago, which measures 1,453ft
How high? Spiderman climbed the 2,717ft building, and - as per the organisers' instructions - had a rope to assist him
On top of the world: Frenchman Alain Robert took about six hours to reach the top of the Buri Khalifa in Dubai, and reached the top of the tallest building in the world just after midnight
In the swing of things: Robert takes a breather and takes in the wonderful skyline of Dubai
Daredevil: Unlike his many previous climbs, the 48-year-old used a rope and harness to comply with organizers' requirements in the Gulf sheikdom
Long way up: Alain Robert began his ascent of the 2,717-tall Burj Khalifa just before sunset and said before he began that he expected his climb to take six or seven hours
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