Alain Robert
French climber and author
Alain Robert (French pronunciation: [alɛ̃ ʁɔbɛʁ]; born Alain Philippe Robert; 7 August 1962) is a French rock climber and urban climber. Nicknamed "the French Spider-Man" or "the Human Spider", Robert carries out free solo climbs of skyscrapers using no climbing equipment except for a small bag of chalk and a pair of climbing shoes.
Authorities do not typically grant him permission to climb many of the buildings he has ascended, but Robert has managed to evade security and access these structures surreptitiously. As a result, he has been arrested numerous times in various countries by law enforcement officials who were waiting for him at the end of his climb. However, he has also completed some climbs with permission and sponsorship.
Strategy
Robert's rock-climbing physical training and technique allow him to climb using the small protrusions of building walls and windows (such as window ledges and frames). Many of his climbs provide him no opportunity to rest and can last several hours. He sometimes has a small bag of climbing chalk powder fastened around his waist.
Career
Robert has climbed landmarks including the Burj Khalifa, Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House and the Montparnasse Tower, as well as other of the world's tallest skyscrapers, most of them performed free solo.
1990s
In July 1994, he climbed the Citibank Citicorp Center.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Alain Robert” as french climber and author. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as french climber and author. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q312489. VIAF identifies the subject as 32154803. The Library of Congress control number is no2009063189. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1962 and 1994.
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This entry incorporates text from “Alain Robert” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.