A new record has been set on the Manitou Incline – and attempting to beat it is not recommended for the average hiker of the route.

On May 14, Bob Stuka, an incline regular perhaps better known as ‘Crazy Bob,’ set a new downhill record on the Manitou Incline route, which consists of 2,768 steep steps in less than a mile with an average grade of about 45 percent – at times, 68 percent.

Stuka’s Strava-recorded time for his descent down all of those steps was seven minutes and 15 seconds, which beat a previously posted record of seven minutes and 17 seconds. Stuka had previously held the second-place spot with a prior time of seven minutes and 18 seconds, which set a record when it was recorded in 2022 to be beat later that year.

As noted by Andrew Swendsen, who posted about the new record in the Manitou Incline Hike Group on Facebook, Stuka’s latest time means he traveled an average of 6.36 stairs per second.

Traveling down the steps of the Manitou Incline isn’t for everyone – it can be painful to knees and it’s so steep it can produce a sort of ‘vertigo’ effect. That said, it remains allowed – though city officials strongly recommend that hikers take the more relaxed Barr Trail for their return trip down the mountain.

“It’s not a hard rule or law, but we do emphasize safety,” once said a city regional parks, trails, and open space manager to The Gazette.

As might be expected, a trip, slip, or fall down the steps of the Incline could be quite painful and would likely result in serious injury. Those attempting to travel down the Incline should do so when uphill traffic is low to avoid risk of injury to others.

As far as the uphill climb goes, that record is held by professional runner Remi Bonnet, who scaled the Manitou Incline in 17 minutes and 25 seconds in September of 2022.

Learn more about other records on the Manitou Incline here.