Is it really? You counted them? If you're right, then that's pathetic on Bethesda's part, in my opinion.
I envisioned the 7000 steps actually being one huge continuous monolithic ancient stone steps/stairs. But it's more like a path that swirls around the mountain until you reach the top, and a lot of the steps aren't even connected, or are and they're just buried too deep beneath the snow. Sorry for my bashing of the game. I played it for the first time last night and I was disappointed.

To answer the OP question, no I didn't walk, I ran the whole time.

My whole journey to the town at the foot of the stairs took hours, then climbing the stairs, getting attacked by a dragon at one point, talking to the pilgrims, getting a wedgie from a mean Frost troll... it was fun and why I love these games. Yeah, I walked it from Whiterun to to the little town, exploring near the road, getting pwned by the first Wispmother I ever saw in the game, fighting a bandit on a log over a waterfall. It was pretty awesome.

I was actually attacked by a dragon at the same point where you encounter the ice wraith.

Plus, I always sneak attack everything with my bow & arrow which easily gets most enemies down to about half health before I'm fully detected and get no more sneak attack bonuses. So, yeah... that frost troll, after a dragon and an ice wraith doubleteam and with a couple Dwarven Arrows to his back, was pretty easy.

I find all types of bears to be 10x more "dammit" inducing and difficult than any other creature, really. Except Chaurus.. but those things are actually kind of dumb if you sneak attack them with arrows from a distance.

Might be a job for a modder to make it 7000 steps. The alternative would be for the devs to call it the 700 steps walk to 'high' hrothgar.

I ran the steps but hell no I am not holding down the walk button.

What do you mean by walk? Walk as in, a really slow stroll as the NPCs do in cities, or walk as in just not using sprint (stamina)?

Walk? Pftt, my character runs around like he's the protagonist of Crank.

I don;t go up steps at a walking pace in real life why would I do it in a game? Steps were made to hustle up and take 2 at a time.

I could never walk the steps, I wouldn't even consider it rp, just annoying.

Well when I RP, at least as far as the Monastery goes, I feel that it would be improper to run around inside. Thus, I considered walking the steps to be a trial of patience for my character, not to mention, in an RP sense, she didn't fully realize her gifts as the Dragonborn yet. Therefore she chose to conserve her strength during the initial climb.

Now that she made it to the monastery, she will run back down and then take her horse from now on. But it was a lot of fun and relaxing to walk the steps this first time.

lmao this.

Fixed for ya friend.
I don't always walk the 7000 steps, but when I do, I always run away from the Frost Troll.

I just rode my horse up the steps. The constant wolf attacks were annoying...