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| - I've done two tandem skydives in Georgia, been on the Grand Canyon Skywalk & the Skydeck in Chicago. There's no way I was visiting Toronto without doing this.
The Edge Walk is done at the CN Tower in downtown Toronto. No matter where you go in the city, you'll see that tower beckoning & taunting you. It's been doing that since 1976, though the Edge Walk attraction began in 2011. It stands 1,815 feet high, is the tallest tower in the western hemisphere & the 3rd tallest tower in the world. The Edge Walk itself is done on a ledge at 1,168 feet.
I tried to make reservations before I arrived in Canada but they wouldn't let me use an American debit card to do it. But you can pay using your debit card in person at the tower & you can pay using credit cards anytime. I signed up for the 8am slot on Labor Day & it cost me $206.07 USD.
I had been to the tower a couple of days before my scheduled walk. From street level, I looked straight up at it. It was so intimidating that I said to myself, "Do I really want to do this?" The answer was yes but I did think about it every time I saw the tower. Standing below it, I couldn't even get the whole thing in the picture with the camera I was using. .
I arrived at 7:40am for my 8am walk. First security makes you empty your pockets & go through a metal detector. Then a young blonde escorted me to the area where I put on my jumpsuit. You're required to empty your pockets & store everything in a locker. This includes wallets, watches, cellphone, jewelry, change, keys, etc. If you wear glasses/shades they will attach something to the handles of it so they won't fall off. If you choose to wear glasses or gloves, you aren't permitted to take them off at any time on the ledge. You can't have any gum or candy in your mouth on the ledge either. You're given a breathalyzer test to make sure you aren't under the influence. They also check & make sure your shoes are tight enough so they won't slip off.
I was given a red jumpsuit to wear. It felt tight because you wear it over the clothes you already have on. I also thought it was a size too small. I didn't complain but it made me look like I was wearing high-water pants and with the clothes I had on underneath it gave the appearance of extra inches along my waistline.
That harness though! You slide your legs in & they tighten it for you. It's as snug as what I wore skydiving. Without being too graphic let's just say I felt "tucked under." They check the harness several times to make sure it's secure.
Then I was introduced to my videographer. She was a raven haired cutie with big, dark eyes & an outgoing personality. She looked like the athletic girl next door & her muscular legs were just bulging beneath the yoga pants she had on. My goodness she was hot! And here I was trying to act normal with my junk tucked underneath me & wearing a tight harness.
The elevator that takes you up to the ledge moves fast but still takes 58 seconds to get up there. The bottom of it has a couple of glass slots so you can look straight down & you can also look straight ahead and see the Toronto skyline as you rise up. She asked me questions & seemed to be trying to gauge whether I had a fear of heights as we went up. She asked if I'd done anything with heights like skydive, etc. She asked how I felt looking thru the glass slots as we distanced ourselves higher from the ground & told me that when we first get up there it's going to be quite windy.
After we got off the elevator, a guy attached my harness to a thick black rope & yellow one then checked it several times. Then the raven haired cutie and I walked out on the ledge. Since I was the only one who signed up for the 8am slot, I felt like I was being given VIP treatment.
As she stated it was windy on the ledge at first & as the wind hit the metal up there you could hear a ringing sound. We walked some as she told me about the CN Tower and made it to a spot that wasn't windy. Then she asked, "Are you ready to try some activities?" Translation: Your ass is about to be leaning over the edge.
First she walked me to the very edge, told me to let my toes hang over it & look down as she pointed out several landmarks. After that she got me to do a pose where I'm leaning forward (which was the hardest one to me). Then she got me to squat & slowly back up to the edge. She asked me to straighten my legs. When I stood I was leaning backwards with only my feet touching the platform. Then I did it without holding the rope. This was my favorite pose! We were up there over 20 min & walked the complete circumference of the ledge. Every stunt I did she did first to show me how it's done. After awhile I was completely comfortable out there.
After it was over they gave me 2 photos in a case, a cd & a certificate declaring me an Edgewalker. For $25 I got a drive with pictures of the walk on it. I left knowing my Toronto vacation was complete.
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