DUBAI: A French climber has scaled one of Dubai’s tallest skyscrapers, relying on just chalk and sticky tape on his fingertips to help him up the 75-storey high Cayan Tower in the emirate’s glitzy marina area.

Alain Robert, 52, completed climbing the 1007-foot high structure in just 70 minutes on on Sunday. He had no harness and little space for his feet on the ledges of the tower, which twists as it ascends.

Robert, who is often described as “The French Spiderman”, is no stranger to scaling tall buildings.

In 2011, he climbed the world’s tallest tower in Dubai. Using a rope and harness to comply with organizers’ requirements, it took him just over six hours to scale the 2,717-foot tall Burj Khalifa.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2015

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