Climber bags world's tallest tower

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 29 (UPI) -- French climber Alain Robert, the French Spiderman, braved high winds Tuesday during an ascent of Dubai's landmark tallest building in the world.

Thousands of students looked on near the base of the Burj Khalifa tower in downtown Dubai late Monday, gathered for the 10th annual Education Without Borders conference.

Robert began what would be a roughly six-hour climb around 6 p.m., local time, the Gulf News reported, and reached the top of the structure shortly after midnight.

"I'm doing this to show the students there is no edge or borders and to inspire people to break the mould and not limit themselves," Robert told the news organization.

For Robert, climbing the 828 meter (2,717 foot) structure -- the tallest such tower in the world -- was a way of sharing his inspiration with roughly 2,000 students in attendance for the three day educational conference, hosted by the Higher Colleges of Technology.

"I climb because I need to find something I enjoy in life and I enjoy climbing buildings," Robert, who told the news he has already scaled the second-, third- and fourth-tallest buildings in the world, said.