Alex Honnold departs Taiwan after conquering Taipei 101 in free-solo climb

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) American climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan on Monday morning, a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers in the city and gained widespread international attention.

Honnold scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness on Sunday.

The climb, the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted, took just over 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets such as CNN, The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal.

As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan on Monday, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni Honnold, arrived at Taoyuan International Airport at 9:10 a.m. Some of the fans rushed to take photos of him, while others cheered and shouted "hero."

In the check-in line, Honnold posed for photos with his fans and shook hands with several foreign travelers.

He declined any media interviews but briefly responded, "Yeah," when asked whether he would visit Taiwan again.

(By Wu Jui-chi and Lee Chieh-Yu) Endtem/pc