'Spiderman' Climbs the Burj Khalifa

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - A tiny half a mile (800 meters) into the air, a French skyscraper climber scaled the tallest building in the world Monday, even surf the slender tower that extends beyond the upper floors of the structure of Dubai.
Alain Robert climbing to 2,717 meters high (828 feet) Burj Dubai took just over six hours. At night, a row of floodlights shone on the side of the tower that Robert has climbed.

Unlike many previous climbs, the 48-year daredevil used a rope and harness to comply with the requirements of the organizers of the Gulf emirate, which opened the sharp metal and glass tower in January last year. An ambulance with a stretcher in hand, was parked next to other emergency vehicles at the base of the Burj.

Robert has climbed over 70 skyscrapers, including the Empire State Building, Chicago Sears Tower and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, according to its website. He won Taiwan's Taipei 101 which, before the Burj is the tallest building in the world in 2004.

The owner of the tower, Emaar Properties, said the half-mile high Burj Dubai has 160 floors of living space. An observation deck is located on the 124th floor.

Seen from the ground, he appeared as a tiny speck hard to follow in the dark.

Emaar called up Robert a "capital" of the event and said in a statement climber "ladder outside the tower in a record feat crimp."

A few hours before ascent, Robert told The Associated Press he hoped to follow through on the page, but acknowledged it would be difficult to exceed about 700 meters freehand without the help of Supplementary material, owing to the tapered design of the arrow.