Almost exactly 15 years on from Skyrim, the Bethesda dev responsible for the "infamous" Seven Thousand Steps at the Throat of the World says, "I did my darndest to find a way to fit all 7,000 steps into the storied path," but alas, it turns out that that's just rather a lot of steps.

In new dev insights shared by Bethesda in the wake of The Elder Scrolls 6's reemergence yesterday, associate art director Dan Lee discusses his impact on the 2011 RPG, noting that, "While not responsible for the rough layout of Skyrim's terrain, I was responsible for refining the shapes of High Hrothgar.

"I would look at the mountain from various viewpoints and tried to keep the shape interesting. My work on the 'Throat of the World' was not limited to sculpting the mountain, but also included cluttering and dressing the mountain with visual effects, plants, and objects," he continues. "This of course, included the infamous 7,000 steps."

Obviously, when you call a location "The Seven Thousand Steps," people are going to check your work, and fans have long since figured out that Bethesda didn't come close to making the name accurate. It's thought that there are between 700 and 800, instead. One intrepid adventurer did the math a month after the game's launch in 2011, and I feel compelled to share the workings they shared on Reddit nearly 15 years ago, which puts the count at 748 steps.

With that said, this wasn't due to a lack of trying from Lee.

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