Alex Honnold Reveals His Playlist During Taipei Skyscraper Climb

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Alex Honnold doesn’t play any free solo by ear. 

He prepares for his incredible climbs with the perfect soundtrack—and that includes his recent ascent of Taipei 101 in Taiwan. He climbed the 1,667-foot-tall building, the 11th tallest in the world, on January 24th (January 25th local time).

In a recent interview with Variety, Alex shared that his playlist mainly consisted of the band Tool. He explained it was a mix of rock songs he’s enjoyed for years, put together months ago while driving, and that he’d been using it during training. He originally shared the playlist with the production team.

Beyond simply enjoying the music, the progressive metal band’s songs actually helped with understanding the building’s unique design. This included the geometric exterior, known as “bamboo boxes,” and the spiraling metal sculptures—called “dragons”—that adorned the corners.

Okay, so Alex totally revealed something amazing! He said music is key to how he makes these incredible bamboo boxes. He times everything to the songs! Each box used to take around five to six and a half minutes, and he just knows how long his favorite tracks are. It’s like, the music gives him this built-in timer – he can instantly tell if he’s rushing or taking too long. It’s brilliant, honestly! I mean, it’s just another reason to love his work – and his taste in music, obviously.

Honestly, throughout the whole climb, my connection kept failing, which Alex mentioned was a real issue. He just said he’d tune it out and focus on what he needed to do, which I totally get! It’s amazing how he just kept going, even when things weren’t working perfectly. He really just did his own thing, and it was inspiring to see.

During those intense moments, the 40-year-old climber—famous for being the first to scale the 3,000-foot El Capitan in Yosemite without ropes—didn’t have music playing. Instead, he was motivated by the sounds of the crowd watching below—their gasps and cheers fueled his climb.

Alex considered whether the crowd’s reactions were distracting, and realized they actually had a positive effect. He explained that this is likely true for most athletes in popular sports – the energy of a cheering crowd can be really energizing when you’re competing.

The climb provided the father of two—whose wife is Sanni McCandless—with a surprisingly new experience.

He explained that as a climber, he’d never felt anything like it. He realized that’s why players in the Super Bowl are so driven – it was his first experience with that level of motivation.

Alex didn’t just compare his Netflix-streamed climb to professional sports like the NFL. He also acknowledged that while he earned a substantial six-figure sum for the climb, it still doesn’t match the income of many professional athletes.

Honestly, when you compare it to what happens in major sports, the amount is surprisingly low. I was just telling the New York Times that MLB players are signing contracts for around $170 million – and that’s for players you might not even recognize! It really puts things into perspective.

For Alex, climbing isn’t about earning money—particularly his ascent of Taipei 101, a historic free solo climb of a skyscraper.

He said that if there wasn’t a TV show on and he was allowed to do it, he would definitely do it, because he was confident he could and thought it would be great.

For more on athlete’s sky-high paychecks, read on. 

Cristiano Ronaldo’s earnings are legendary, and he consistently ranks among the world’s highest-paid athletes. In June 2025, he extended his contract with Al-Nassr FC in Saudi Arabia for two more years. Although the specific details weren’t made public, reports indicate he initially earned around $200 million per year when he joined the team in 2022 after leaving Manchester United.

Lionel Messi started his career with Inter Miami CF with a substantial contract. According to the MLS Players Association, the Argentine star, who joined the team in 2023 after playing for Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, will earn an average of over $20.4 million per year. His current base salary is $12 million annually. The team is owned by David Beckham, and Messi signed a contract lasting two and a half years.

Despite progress in some areas, a significant pay gap remains between male and female athletes. For example, the 2025 list of the top 50 highest-paid athletes published by Forbes included no women. Alex Morgan, who retired from soccer in 2024, was ranked 16th on Forbes‘ list of highest-paid female athletes last year. They estimated she earned $600,000 from playing and $7 million from endorsements in 2024. While U.S. Soccer has taken a positive step by equalizing World Cup prize money for its men’s and women’s teams, achieving equal pay across all of sports still requires considerable effort.

Caitlin Clark, the first pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, signed a four-year contract with the Indiana Fever. According to reports, the contract is worth $338,056, with a rookie salary of $76,535. This relatively low figure surprised many, especially when compared to NBA player salaries. In addition to her WNBA contract, Clark has secured several endorsement deals, including a lucrative $28 million agreement with Nike.

Stephen Curry was the highest-paid NBA player for the 2025-2026 season, earning $59.6 million, according to ESPN. The Golden State Warriors then secured his future with the team by signing him to a $62.6 million contract extension through 2027, as confirmed by his agent to CNBC in August 2024.

And leading the charge in earnings? LeBron James. ESPN reports the Los Angeles Lakers forward earned $52.6 million during the 2025-2026 season.

Coco Gauff is making waves both on and off the tennis court. In 2024, Forbes ranked her as the highest-paid female athlete, with total earnings of $34.4 million – $9.4 million from playing and $25 million from endorsements and other ventures.

Naomi Osaka is also doing very well with her sponsorships and endorsements. According to Forbes, she earned around $12.9 million in 2024, with $12 million of that coming from off-court deals – meaning everything besides prize money from tournaments.

Simone Biles had a golden year both in competition and financially. Forbes estimates she earned $11.2 million in 2024, with most of that – around $11 million – coming from endorsements and other opportunities outside of her gymnastics competitions.

Wondering how much Travis Kelce earns playing for the Kansas City Chiefs? He recently signed a two-year contract worth $34.25 million, as reported by NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

Patrick Mahomes, his teammate, earned a substantial amount of money when he signed a 10-year, $450 million contract with the Chiefs in 2020, as reported by his agency, Equity Sports.

The Buffalo Bills made sure to sign quarterback Josh Allen to a long-term contract. In March 2025, he signed a six-year, $330 million deal, with $250 million guaranteed, according to Ian Rapoport.

Russell Wilson has joined the New York Giants. After playing for the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, and Pittsburgh Steelers, the quarterback signed a one-year, $10.5 million contract with the Giants in March 2025. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero, and Mike Garafolo reported that Wilson could earn up to $21 million with performance-based incentives.

Aaron Rodgers is now the Steelers’ quarterback, having previously played for the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers. He’ll be wearing number 8, but his contract is significantly larger than that. He signed a one-year deal in June 2025 worth $13.65 million, with $10 million guaranteed. He could potentially earn up to $19.5 million more through performance-based incentives, according to NFL Network insiders Rapoport and Pelissero.

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2026-01-26 16:48