Dan Goodwin

Dan Goodwin
Born	November 7, 1955(1955-11-07) Kennebunkport, Maine
Residence	Lake Tahoe / Marin County California
Nationality	United States
Other names	SpiderDan SkyscraperMan
Known for	Building Climber Rock/Sports Climber Skyscraper Defense Advocate
Website http://www.skyscraperdefense.com/

Dan Goodwin is a building, rock, and sports climber originally from Kennebunkport, Maine. He currently divides his time between Lake Tahoe and Marin County, California.

Dan Goodwin's life story, entitled SKYSCRAPERMAN, includes a foreword written by Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man, is planned for publication during 2009. SKYSCRAPERMAN is co-written and edited by D. B. Guidinger.^[1].^[2]

Building Climber

On November 21, 1980, Dan Goodwin witnessed the burning of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, resulting in the death of 84 people. Because of a rescue attempt Goodwin had witnessed on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, he believed many of the people trapped in the MGM Grand could be rescued. However, when he presented his plan to the on location fire boss, which included his climbing up to the trapped individuals and connecting cables to the floors to enable rescue baskets to be ferried to and from helicopters, he was called a "lunatic" and threatened with arrest. The day after the fire he approached a Las Vegas Fire Department fire chief and once again presented his ideas on rescue. He was told he needed to climb a building to learn of the dangers of high-rise firefighting and rescue. As a result, the following Memorial Day, Goodwin climbed the then tallest building in the world, the then-named Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois.^[3]

Notable Building Climbs

Sears Tower

On Memorial Day, May 25, 1981, wearing a homemade Spider-Man suit and using suction cups, camming devices, and sky hooks, Dan Goodwin successfully scaled the then tallest building on Earth, the 110 story Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower) in Chicago, Illinois. For seven hours Goodwin fought severe winds, slippery glass, and repeated attempts by the Chicago Fire Department to stop him. A few feet below the top Goodwin taped an American flag to the building to honor his father who fought in the Korean War. Chicago’s press dubbed him,Spider Man AKA Spider Dan. Goodwin stated the reason he scaled the Sears Tower was to call attention to inadequacies in high-rise firefighting and rescue.^[3][4][5][6]

Renaissance Tower

On November 7, 1981, Dan Goodwin was in Dallas, Texas where, disguised as a homeless person, he approached the 56 story Renaissance Tower, stripped to his Spider-Man suit, and, using suction cups, his hands, and his feet, successfully climbed the building. At the ensuing press conference, Goodwin said the reason he made the climb was to keep a promise he made to a young Dallas resident stricken with Cystic Fibrosis.^[7]

John Hancock Center

On November 11, 1981, wearing a wetsuit and using a climbing device he designed for the building, Dan Goodwin scaled the 100 story John Hancock Center in Chicago, Illinois. There he met resistance from the Chicago Fire Department who tried to knock him off the building by directing a gushing fire hose at him, by smashing fire axes through windows he was approaching, and by dislodging his climbing equipment with long poles. At one point Goodwin, using a rope, swung across the building in an attempt to elude the fire department. Chicago’s Mayor, Jane Byrne, intervened and allowed Goodwin to continue to the top. Goodwin said he made the climb to call attention to the inability to successfully fight fires in high-rise buildings.^[8][9][10]

North Tower of the World Trade Center

On Memorial Day, May 30, 1983, using suction cups for the first four floors before switching to a homemade camming device on the building’s window washing track, Dan Goodwin successfully scaled the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York. Just prior to reaching the top, Goodwin attached an American flag to the side of the North Tower in tribute to all Americans who died in war. Goodwin said he made the climb to call attention to the inability to rescue trapped building occupants from the upper levels of skyscrapers.^[11][12][13]

CN Tower

On June 26, 1986, Dan Goodwin successfully scaled what was at the time the world’s tallest structure, the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada. Using only his hands and feet he climbed one side, rappelled down, then, seconds later, climbed the far side and rappelled down again. Goodwin's climb was a sponsored publicity event celebrating the tower's ten-year anniversary.^[14][15]

History of Building Climbs^[16]

Rock/Sports Climber

As a rock climber, Dan Goodwin made several first ascents of challenging climbs and regularly broke with rock climbing tradition by free soloing without a rope, performing the One Arm Fly Off, and the Flag Maneuver. Goodwin responded to those in the rock climbing community who hailed his acrobatic maneuvers as "stunts" by saying he was "sport climbing" and therefore not bound by the rules of traditional rock climbing.^[17][18]

Rock climber Jeff Lowe, along with Dick Bass, the owner of Utah's Snowbird ski resort, appreciated Goodwin's innovative climbs and invited Goodwin to build the climbing wall for the First International Sport Climbing Championship held at Snowbird in 1988. Goodwin did not participate in the championship, serving instead as a commentator for CBS Sports.^[19]

History of First Ascents^[20]

The Skyscraper Defense Act

Following the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Goodwin wrote the first version of the Skyscraper Defense Act. The Act calls for a special section within the United States’ government for skyscraper defense.^[21]

References

External links

• SkyscraperDefenseAct
• BBC news report on climbing of the Sears Tower
• Buildering, Climbing Buildings