Free-solo climber Alex Honnold was reportedly paid about $500,000 to climb the Taipei 101 skyscraper without ropes or protection, an act that carried a nontrivial risk of death.

Famed climber Alex Honnold made history this weekend, making his way up the 1,667-foot Taipei 101 skyscraper — finishing the highest free solo climb of an urban structure in history.

Cheers erupted from a street-level crowd as he reached the top of the spire of the 1,667-foot tower about 90 minutes after he started.