'Spider Dan' climbed the CN Tower with no rope nearly 40 years ago. Now, he says he'd never do it again

It’s been nearly 40 years since ‘Spider Dan’ ascended the outside of the CN Tower using nothing but his hands and feet – an accomplishment that, today, he says he'd never attempt again.

It was 1986 and Dan Goodwin, known widely as ‘Spider Dan,’ had just come away from a successful first ascent of a route dubbed ‘Maniac’ in Maine, U.S. – at the time, heralded as the “world’s hardest climb,” Goodwin told CTV News Toronto in an interview last week.

“I had also climbed a couple buildings beforehand – all free solo’d – and I was really wanting to push myself,” Goodwin said.

Free soloing is a technical term used to describe climbs completed without rope, using only their hands, climbing shoes, and chalk. The specific form of climbing was widely popularized by the 2018 Academy Award-winning documentary, ‘Free Solo,’ which follows Alex Honnold’s ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite, Cali.

The style was introduced into the climbing scene in the 1970s, just a decade before Goodwin’s ascent, and he said, in 1986, the world had been slow to welcome it.

Dan Goodwin can be seen climbing the CN Tower in 1986. (CFTO Archives)

“I was thrilled to be part of the free climbing revolution,” Goodwin said. “The CN tower gave me the opportunity to showcase abilities I hadn’t yet in the U.S. – they seemed so hung up on liability at the time.”

Now, more than three decades since his life-changing feat, Goodwin is still climbing voraciously, but his philosophy on free soloing has changed – it’s a style of climbing he says he’s no longer able to endorse.

“I’ve known some of the best free climbers out there,” he said “Most of them are dead.”

Goodwin pointed to an “old saying in climbing,” attributed to prolific climber Fred Beckey – “There are old climbers and there are bold climbers. But there are no old, bold climbers.”

His decision to stick with rope when sport climbing is “the reason why [he’s] still alive” today, he says.

Dan Goodwin speaks to reporters after free soloing the CN Tower in 1986

'EVERY BOLT, EVERY RIVET'

In 1986, the CN Tower’s 10th anniversary was soon approaching and the building still held the title of the world’s tallest free-standing structure.

Goodwin says it was the CN Tower's team who offered him the chance to climb -- an opportunity he was surprised by, as he said he'd been receiving a significant amount of pushback against the notion of free climbing in the U.S. -- a country "hung up on liability" at the time, he said.

“They reached out to me and wanted to know if I’d be interested in climbing their tower,” he said. “At that point, I had gained a certain amount of confidence, so I was intrigued and I went to check it out.”

It didn’t take much of an inspection to make up his mind, Goodwin said – “I knew almost right away: I could do it.”

“And not only did I think, ‘I can climb this,’ but I thought, ‘I think I can speed climb this,” he recalled.

On the morning of June 26, 1986, Goodwin says he spent some time “engaged and answering questions with reporters and onlookers" at the base of the tower, before turning his back to the crowd, emptying his mind, and beginning his ascent.

As he moved through the motions, his mind was “completely silent,” he said.

A woman watches 'Spider Dan' Goodwin climb the CN Tower in 1986 (CFTO Archives)

“Boom. Completely blank. I just got into the zone and focused,” he said. “The only thing you can think about is the next move – everything becomes magnified and I can see what I have to do so clearly, every bolt, every rivet.”

In just over an hour, he’d completed the ascent, marking him as the first person to climb the CN Tower.

He then walked to the other side of the structure, and free-climbed that side, too – “for good measure.”

Dan Goodwin can be seen free soloing the CN Tower in 1986 (CFTO Archives)

'THE BIRTH OF SPORT CLIMBING'

Goodwin says his Toronto ascent opened a number of doors for him, forever changing the course of his climbing career.

“Had they not granted me permission to free solo both sides, full speed, it might not have caught the attention of Jeff Lowe,” Goodwin said. Jeff Lowe is a now-deceased alpinist largely credited to have “paved the way for modern sport climbing.”

Goodwin says Lowe was impressed by his Canadian feat, prompting him to make contact. Together, they would go on to build the world’s tallest climbing wall at the time, to be used in the first international rock climbing competition, 'Snowbird,' held in 1988 in Utah, U.S.

The competition served as an ideological battleground for climbers over the heart of sport and proved influential to the future of sport climbing, Goodwin said.

“We were going from a period where climbers were relying on equipment to being intrigued to try new styles,” he said. "It was all playing out right there."

Ultimately, he says he can trace his involvement in Snowbird and its subsequent push to change in attitudes in the climbing world back to his CN Tower ascent.

Dan Goodwin can be seen as he completes his ascent of the CN Tower in 1986 (CFTO Archives)

“Had I not caught the attention of Jeff Lowe,” Goodwin said. “We might have never been able to change climbing.”

The innovation didn't stop there, either -- as Goodwin gained confidence as a climber, he continued to push the limits of possibility, incorporating gymnastic-like movements, such as fly-offs and flips, into his climbs mid-ascent.

'WHEN DO YOU STOP?'

Today, Goodwin says he’s not taking on as many daring adventures.

“Eventually, you have to ask yourself, ‘When do you stop?’” he said.

Goodwin says he’s known too many “talented and passionate” climbers who have lost their lives to the sport.

“If you’re playing Russian roulette, eventually you’re going to get the chamber,” he said. “The same is true with climbing.”

Still, he acknowledges the appeal it holds for climbers – “Free-soloing: it’s magical, it’s alluring, but the price of failure is extraordinarily high.”

Goodwin, now 67, says he plans to climb well into his old age, and increased risk precautions, like ropes, are part of that plan. He's also set to publish two books on the sport this summer.

“When I’m 100 years old, I’d still like to be climbing.” 

Dan Goodwin can be seen above. (Dan Goodwin/Website)