We’re trying to awaken minds with a bold gesture, 31-year-old French climber Seb Bouin said of his ropeless climb this week. Personally, I cant say watching this terrifying ascent up a 600-foot French skyscraper makes me feel awakened. But my palms certainly feel sweaty.

　　Bouin — known for pulling off some of the hardest sport routes in the world — evidently decided he needed to venture outside his comfort zone, he said on Instagram this week. So he joined in the riskier endeavors of his fellow countryman Alain Robert, a legendary free soloist called the French Spider-Man for his bold, ropeless ascents of mega-tall buildings. (Free solo means climbing without a rope.)

　　The French duo posted videos and photos this week of its Saturday ascent up Pariss Total Tower. It was supposedly Bouins first free solo climb, and he acknowledged that starting off with a skyscraper sounded like a crazy idea. It also doesnt help that climbing buildings is generally frowned upon by those in charge of public safety. Indeed, the 62-year-old Robert claims hes been arrested more than 150 times for climbing buildings.

　　Bouin didnt immediately respond to a GearJunkie request about how he and Robert arranged the climb. But in the post of this slow-moving video taken by photographer Jan Virt, Bouin seems to sense the outsized reaction the stunt may provoke. He frames the ascent as a way to remind others that life is precious.

　　View this post on Instagram A post shared by Seb Bouin (@sebbouin)

　　Free Soloings Grip on the Imagination Theres no doubt that Alex Honnolds Oscar-winning Free Solo helped put rock climbing into the center of mainstream conversation. Honnolds ropeless ascent of Yosemites El Capitan defies the need for explanation. Its one guy climbing a sheer, 3,000-foot rock face without protection —we know the stakes.

　　The feats of climbers like Seb Bouin or Adam Ondra, however, are harder to communicate to a general audience. These crushers can scale routes significantly more difficult than anything Honnold has ever attempted. But if youre not a climber, youd be forgiven for not seeing the difference between Bouins 5.15c Suprême Jumbo Love, which exists at the upper ceiling of whats possible, and a much easier route in Red River Gorge.

　　Free soloing, on the other hand, triggers an instant reaction. This is arguably even truer in an urban setting, where theres an undeniable power to see people occupy a space thats usually off-limits to us fragile humans.

　　View this post on Instagram A post shared by Seb Bouin (@sebbouin)

　　Its the terror of potentially watching someone fall that keeps us watching —and Robert seems to know this. In another Instagram post Wednesday, Robert published a short video of the frightening moment he almost fell.

　　Since hes wearing a camera on his helmet, every moment is recorded.

　　All of the sudden I have SLIPPED LIKE NEVER BEFORE and nearly fell, Robert wrote. However having a good mindset and mastering my fear is one of my best asset. At least I could speak with Seb who was few meters above and explain to him what just happened to me. That was surreal.

　　Sure is —almost as surreal as watching this high-stakes drama play out on social media.

　　In Short Film 'Hurt,' Veteran Faces PTSD Through Free SoloingA familiar story about a traumatized veteran meets the ropeless form of rock climbing in this gripping drama set in Squamish, British Columbia. Read more