New York (AP) — Climb a narrow metal staircase on the edge of a skyscraper, and a safety harness attached to the building (about 1,300 feet above) clicks on the roller coaster as it heads for its first fall. I continued.
Looking around the recent autumn days, I saw New York City spreading under me in the early morning light. To the south, the One World Trade Center has appeared at eye level in the distance. To the east is the needle spire of the Empire State Building. On the west, even New Jersey looked great, as guide Anissa Barbat pointed out.
This was City Climbing, an attraction that opened on Tuesday at 30 Hudson Yard, one of the tallest buildings in the city. It gives thrill-seekers a unique view of New York that the observatory can’t hope to match: no walls, glass windows, or railings. Just a skyline.
The $ 185 per person experience begins with climbing a group of up to eight people who have passed a set of safety protocols, including a drinking test. After that, they wear bright blue full-body suits to keep people from falling down the street below.
Climbers are equipped with specially designed safety harnesses that take outdoor stairs from the first observatory, called the Cliff, to the top-floor platform, Apex, 1,271 feet (387 meters) above 10th Avenue. You can climb.
There, they can lean on the edge and look down on the Empire State Building. City climbs rain, snow, or shine, but are closed if temperatures drop below 23 degrees Fahrenheit (-5 degrees Celsius) or if there are dangerous weather conditions in the area.
When I went out for mountain climbing, I was hungry as soon as the gate labeled “Exclusion Zone” opened on the cliff. As I walked through the 161 steps on the outer edge of the building’s characteristic triangular summit, the night before, my hands were numb with tense expectations.
I overlooked Hudson Yards Plaza and the street next to it. The car looked like an ant there.
Upon arriving at Apex, the attraction manager, Barbat, welcomed me. “We are at the top of the world.”
Then she leaned forward, stretched her arms, and hung into the city as Tether prevented her from falling down the street.
“Put your heels on the edges, bend your knees and push them out,” said one of the guides when it was my turn.
I did as instructed. And that was the time to extend my arm.
I didn’t know if I wanted to let go, but everyone’s eyes were on me. I remembered when I did a bungee jump at college almost 20 years ago. I hesitated at that time and always regretted it.
So I let go. About 1,300 feet down (9 seconds fall) was 30th Avenue, which wasn’t too bad, given the fact that it was a particular dead person.
Barbat said he hopes to see a mix of thrill-seeking people trying to prove to themselves that they can overcome acrophobia.
“We’re going to welcome urban explorers who are really looking to do something great in New York City,” Barbat said. “Then there will be people who really want to prove that they can overcome hurdles as well as fears. This will be a great, life-changing experience for some.”
After looking like a few minutes (actually 30 or 40 seconds), I grabbed the harness and pulled it back. I’m not afraid of heights, but I respect him. When I got back to the platform, I felt like this: A little achievement.
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Look down: Scaling one of New York’s tallest skyscrapers | National News
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