The man yanked off the side of Trump Tower in New York City earlier today clearly had some technical climbing expertise. While he wore a basic green T-shirt, white gym shorts, and a logo-less white baseball cap, his kit was legit. It would have to be to get him to the 21st floor.Since we’re the experts, here's a breakdown of what you need to scale a skyscraper on 5th Avenue in Manhattan in broad daylight:
Powr-GripSuction Cup Lifters ($80)
work via hand-pump on the handle that expels the air between the rubber cup and the window you’re sticking to.
Five Ten Rogue VCSClimbing Shoes ($100)
feature leather uppers and ultra-sticky rubber outsoles—perfect for finding the edge on granite faces or 663-foot skyscrapers.
PetzlClimbing Harness
It’s hard to tell from the footage which model the Trump Tower climber was wearing. Our best guess is the ($125), designed for technical alpine climbing.
Petzl Grigi 2 ($100)
has an automatic braking system—meaning it cinches the rope all on its own to keep you from sliding downward. The climber appeared tohaveone affixed to the rope between his harness and one of the suction cups.
Bonus: The Route
Our friends at Mountain Project dubbed the line up the building and gave it a 5.5 X rating: pretty straightforward as trad routes go. Here’s the description:
Start the send as quickly as possible so that security can't pull you off. Once on the wall continue up at a slow and steady pace. Watch out for NYPD cranes and falling sheet glass. Top out if no one can catch you.