CN Tower EdgeWalk Accident

EdgeWalk lets thrill-seekers walk hands free along a 1.5-metre-wide ledge around the top of the tower's main pod.

Walkers get suited up in fire engine red jumpsuits and yellow harnesses for a stunning, open-air view of Toronto and Lake Ontario from 356 metres above the ground.

Safety harnesses and industrial-strength cables attach walkers to an overhead rail, allowing them to lean off the edge of the platform and gaze out on the city sprawling below.

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• Reporters lean back, 1, 168 feet over Toronto's downtown, while participating in a media preview of the new EdgeWalk attraction on the CN Tower Wednesday, July 27, 2011. Participants are strapped into a harness as they walk along a walkway around the CN Tower. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)
• Canadian Press reporter Alexandra Posadzki leans back, 1, 168 feet over Toronto's downtown, while participating in a media preview of EdgeWalk on the CN Tower Wednesday, July 27, 2011. Participants are strapped into a harness as they walk along a walkway around the CN Tower. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)
• The Rogers Centre is seen from 1, 168 feet over Toronto's downtown during a media preview of the EdgeWalk attraction on the CN Tower, Wednesday, July 27, 2011. Participants are strapped into a harness as they walk along a walkway around the tower. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)
• Canadian Press reporter Alex Posadzki leans over Toronto's downtown while participating in a media preview of EdgeWalk on the CN Tower on Wednesday, July 27, 2011. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)
• I was among the first in North America to experience the Edge Walk - a hands-free walk on top of the CN Tower, 356 meters high. This is behind-the-scenes footage of our shoot for New.Music.Live. shot with a helmet camera I was wearing.
• Clips of my attempts at the various edgewalk challenges.

The experience costs $175 and lasts a total of 90 minutes, with the walk itself taking 20 to 30 minutes. Trained guides lead the walkers in groups of six to eight.

The sky was clear and the sun bright on Wednesday, as members of the media clambered into their red jumpsuits for a chance to preview the heart-thumping, hair-raising spectacle.

They were scanned with hand-held metal detectors, had their items swabbed for chemicals and were given breathalyzer tests before venturing out. Loose items like shoes and glasses were secured, while bobby pins and jewelry were removed.

Once at the top, those daring enough tiptoed along the edge of the platform or leaned forwards or back off the edge.

There's no reason to be afraid, the guides reassured them, because the cables are strong enough to support the weight of a bus.

But it's easy to forget that when all of your weight is on two cables as you dangle from the edge of what was formerly dubbed the world's tallest free-standing structure.

EdgeWalk will be open every year from May to October in all weather except high winds and electrical storms.