A reporter leans over the edge of the catwalk during the media preview for the "EdgeWalk" on the CN Tower in Toronto, July 27, 2011. Participants are strapped in to a harness that is attached to a guard rail while walking around the catwalk on the structure 356 m off the ground. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

Images: Toronto's thrilling EdgeWalk attraction CN Tower attraction a walk on wild side

I trust the rope.

That’s what I kept repeating in my head as Rob Ng, our guide, instructs me to sit on my harness and begin to walk backwards towards the edge of the CN Tower.

“Now lean back,” he says. “Put your arms out. Now, look down.”

From that view — 356 metres up, almost 11 football fields in the air — Union Station looked like it was in need of a revitalization. And then a second later, I didn’t want to look again. Eyes back on Rob.

Five newspaper reporters and photographers braved new heights and dared to be among the first people on the CN Tower’s newest attraction — EdgeWalk, which officially opens to the public Monday.

It’s a 30-minute jaunt around the outside of the tower where for $175 a pop, instructors ask you to do ridiculous things such as lean back or forward so you’re body is actually hanging off the structure.

And there’s only about 1.5 metres from the tower to the edge.

It’s more of a mental challenge than a physical one, with a double harness keeping you from falling to your certain doom.

Before you go up to the walk, it takes about an hour for you to get fitted in a Devo-esque jumpsuit and running shoes, pass a breathalyzer test and put all your valuables in a locker.

At that point, I get an e-mail on my phone from my boyfriend Dave, who has lovingly calculated how long it would take for me to hit the pavement using a “splatter calculator.”

“You’ll have 10.62 seconds to enjoy the vistas, and the nice breeze before...well, you know...” he writes.

I chuckle nervously.

Before heading out, Rob explains the “rope is your best friend” if you need to grab onto something. There are clips attached to the ropes to your harness holding you to a rail that winds its way around the 150 metres circumference of the tower.

“The first thing everyone says (when you ask them to lean out) is ‘Are you sure? Is this safe?’ and it absolutely is,” Rob said. “Our system is checked top to bottom. Being that high up is a typical day at the office and while that height is always at the back of my mind, I trust the equipment and facility. It’s safe for me and safe for you guys.”

I rapelled down City Hall last summer and thought I had conquered my fear of heights. As soon as I was clipped in and saw the open space that awaited me a few metres away, I knew that I was still terrified.

So when Rob asked each of us to squat and walk backwards towards the edge, the first instinct is to hesitate — but I forced myself to do it and honestly, it was still scary but bearable.

Leaning forward is a bit of a different story.

I felt like I had vertigo looking down and what kept me from panicking was looking at the rust on the train yards at Union Station.

Surprisingly, the more we walked, the less petrifying the experience was and the more scenic it became. We watched planes soar past us and even caught a bird’s eye view of nude sunbathers at Hanlan’s Point in the distance.

And what was particularly calming was Rob’s factoids on the OCAD building (Did you know the pencil crayon “legs” only hold 20% of the building’s full weight?) and other landmarks to make you forget you’re 116 storeys up.

Just as I was just getting used to being up there, it was time to end the walk and go back inside.

As terrifying as the whole thing was, I’d do it again.

But I don’t know if EdgeWalk has cured me of my fear of heights.

Maybe next time, I’ll jump out of a plane to double-check.