How many steps is the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb?
1,332 for the standard Summit climb, according to BridgeClimb, and 1,621 for the Ultimate climb, which covers 2.3 kilometres of the bridge. The top of the arch is 134 metres above the water. And it is the one famous climb your iPhone will never record, because you are not allowed to take it with you.
Why you also see 650 and 1,621
Because there is more than one climb, and some people count only the way up. The 1,332 is the whole Summit climb, up the arch and back, so the “about 650 steps to the top” in older blogs is most likely the same climb counted one way. The Ultimate climb walks the full length of the bridge over both arches, 1,621 steps in about three and a half hours. Shorter options exist with smaller counts again.
None of these numbers is wrong. Like the Statue of Liberty, the answer depends on which ticket you bought.
134 metres, give or take 18 centimetres
The summit of the arch stands 134 metres above sea level, which makes it the tallest steel arch bridge in the world. It is not a fixed number either. The steel expands on hot days and the arch can rise by up to 18 centimetres, so a summer climb ends very slightly higher than a winter one.
On the Ultimate climb there is a stop at the point where the two halves of the arch met, on 19 August 1930.
The climb Apple Health never sees
You climb without your phone. Climbers quoted on BridgeClimb’s own FAQ page say phones, cameras and even watches stay behind in a locker, and the guide takes the photos instead.
So a climb of 134 metres, which would be about 44 flights from the water to the top, adds nothing to your Flights Climbed and nothing to your steps. It is the rare case where the brag has to be made with the certificate, because the phone was in a locker in The Rocks the whole time.
What 1,332 steps equals
Each one links to where the number came from.