It's possible this is the most popular stair climb in the entire midwest. Hundreds of people do it everyday, and it's on the Mount Baldhead Challenge race course. This is really fun!
It's longer and different than a normal VK because instead of just the up one has to go down the same distance. But OTOH these stairs are of optimal steepness and depth for efficient vertical gain. And they're rustic 2x6's instead of concrete or something. And you can go swim in Lake Michigan when done.
17 full laps really is a vertical kilometer of gain, but the tree canopy is so thick the elevation and distance do not fully register on the watch. I even took two steps past the top and bottom each time in hopes the watch would capture it.
This went well. Had to breath a lot and the legs got tired. The only thing that had me concerned was keeping track of the laps, so I cleared a space in the sand and drew marks with a stick each time. But then noticed I was right on a 5 min/lap pace, which meant the time kept good count.
This is recommended!