Everyone who has played Skyrim can recall their initial trip to High Hrothgar to meet the enigmatic and secretive Greybeards. For the majority, it’s a perilous path.
Bethesda deceived us
The most notorious of these is a Frost Troll that is certain to rattle the jimmies of all lower-level players that traverse it, which is followed by an ancient system of stone steps carved into a road that travels through various terrible perils.
It’s safe to conclude that Frost Troll eats a lot of unfortunate newcomers given how early in the game it demands players to travel to High Hrothgar at the Throat of the World.
ne of the first significant obstacles in Skyrim on the path to becoming a Dragonborn is the trip known by many characters as the Seven Thousand Steps. But Bethesda lied to all of us.
The Seven Thousand Stairs don’t actually have 7,000 steps in them. I know, and I share your rage at having been duped in this way.
This betrayal was first discovered by Reddit user Jimeee not long after Skyrim’s initial release, some nine years ago.
But since then, their post explaining the Seben Thousand Steps’ myth has reappeared, and it’s worth sharing for anyone who might have missed it the first time. Why do you ask? Because it is a slow news day.
Jimeee discovered there are approximately 748 steps heading up to the Greybeards after counting every step that is visible on the path from the first step over the Ivarstead bridge all the way up to the front door of High Hrothgar.
If you really want to, you can increase that amount by an additional 100 to 150 steps because they agree that the landscape suggests there are more stairs buried beneath the snow. In any case, it’s not quite 7,000, is it?
“In conclusion, Jimeee said, “Our trip up to the Greybeards would have been around ten times longer if the Throat of the World included 7000 stairs. The mountain itself should be approximately ten times bigger, which is crazy if it was that massive in-game. Todd Howard is a lying bastard, too.”
It doesn’t really important if there aren’t 7,000 steps heading up the mountain, Jimeee said. Imagine how many more Frost Trolls you could fit on a route like that, even if it weren’t for the fact that that number would have been far too numerous. In fact, I’m more amazed that someone actually made the effort to track every single step.
