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02/04/13 - ABC News - French Daredevil Climbs Havana Hotel Without Net

A French daredevil who has scaled some of the world's tallest buildings
conquered Cuba's famous Habana Libre hotel on Monday without ropes or a
safety net - climbing to the top in about half an hour as hundreds of awed
onlookers gasped and cheered from the streets below.

Alain Robert clambered onto the roof of the 27-story hotel just after 1:30
p.m. after a death-defying stunt that followed years of other hair-raising
feats.

The climber had said his main concern was not the height of the
413-foot-tall (126-meter) hotel, but that a bit of the building's brittle
facade might break off. Like many city landmarks, the hotel is in disrepair
after more than half a century of Communist rule on the island.

In the end, the 50-year-old Frenchman made short work of the building,
climbing confidently and so quickly he could have almost been riding a
slow-moving elevator.

Before he began, Robert acknowledged in an interview with The Associated
Press that he felt nervous.

"It's always a little hard beforehand," he said in French. "But afterwards
I feel great. I feel reborn. I feel free."

A huge cheer went up as Robert started climbing under a bright blue sky.
Tourists stared up from the hotel pool, and office workers shouted
encouragement from nearby balconies.

Robert, known as "Spider-Man," has scaled much taller structures in his
career, including the former Sears Tower in Chicago, New York's Empire
State Building and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.

Two years ago he took six hours to summit what currently is the world's
tallest building, the 2,717 foot-tall (828 meter) Burj Khalifa in Dubai,
though for that ascent he used some safety equipment.

Robert arrived in Havana last week, and has been waiting to get
authorities' permission to begin the stunt.

Cuba agreed to let him go ahead, and dozens of police were on hand Monday
to keep order. In other countries, Robert has often pulled off his stunts
without seeking permission, and has sometimes been arrested.

Just before the climb, Robert scoped out the building, which once was the
Havana Hilton.

Though a fall would almost certainly kill him, the Frenchman said he was
not intimidated.

The hotel is one of the Cuban capital's most iconic buildings, taken over
after the 1959 Cuban Revolution and redubbed the "Habana Libre," or "Free
Havana." Fidel Castro briefly set up his personal offices in the hotel
after his triumphant march into the capital.

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Associated Press writer Paul Haven contributed to this report.


Original Source / Fuente Original:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-daredevil-begins-havana-hotel-climb-18402080