Janet Guttsman: A cakewalk on Canada's tallest structure

I admit there’s something a little disconcerting about an open metal platform almost a quarter of a mile above the ground, with no guard rail, a clear view of the ground through the metal mesh beneath your feet and only a couple of ropes tethering you to the tower above. But someone had to write about the formal launch of tourism's latest daredevil adventure, and my deputies cunningly decided that it was a job for the bureau chief. And I also have to admit that it’s up there with a spin round the Snetterton race track in Norfolk as one of the most fun things I’ve done in journalism. 

The EdgeWalk on Toronto’s CN Tower is billed as the city’s newest and tallest attraction. You’re part of a small group that walks around a narrow platform ringing the tower, and the super-cheerful guides encourage you to tiptoe along the edge, or lean backward or forward, Titanic-style, as far as the rope will go. There are two safety ropes in fact, a thick, black number, and a yellow seat-belt style strap that acts as a brake if you move too fast. I felt safe. I couldn’t have jumped if I’d wanted to. 

The CN Tower is the tallest structure in Canada, boasting the usual tourist-friendly gimmicks like a revolving restaurant, a section of glass floor and a bank of high-speed glass-sided elevators to the top. The EdgeWalk is 356 metres (1,168 feet) above the ground, while the tower itself tops out at 1,815 feet and 5 inches, or 553.33 metres.

Canada bureau chief Janet Guttsman joined Reuters in Frankfurt and worked in Russia and Washington before moving to Canada a decade or so ago. “I worked in Germany and the Wall came down, I moved to Moscow and the country fell apart, and then to Washington in time for the Asian economic crisis and the impeachment of the president,” she said. “The CN Tower gig is a cakewalk by comparison.”

Teetering on the edge: Photographer Mark Blinch’s account of the assignment ■