9 the answer is 9!
So I did it! I got off the train a couple of stops early and walked about 3.5km to work. Then walked up the stairs to my desk.
The whole 13 floors.
By myself.
At level 2 I was already thinking it was a bad idea, with a few warm days in a row and no ventilation the stair well was pretty hot. I could already hear my heart beating in my ears. But that's o.k. as it dulled out the sound of my gasping for breath.
Level 3 provided some reprieve with a flat landing, this gave me about 4 metres to get my breath a little. Yeah I was already huffing and puffing, sad I know.
I tried to pick up the pace for level 4, 5 and 6. Then stopped for another photo and already had sweat beading on my forehead. It also echo’s a lot in the stairs and my breathing was sounding a little scary at this point. I was regretting my decision at this point and I wasn’t even half way. Who walks up 13 flights of stairs in the morning? REALLY?!
7 and 8 involved a lot of the hand rail, and by level 9 I had sweat running down my face (and other places). Along with not being able to think as I was just trying to breathe. After this I was in a bit of a groove and just kept going.
Between level 10 and 11 over one of the lights it had a sign; “WARNING. Staff may be exiting”
Yeah warning alright, how about the warning for someone passed out on the stairs. I could die out there and no one would find me until the next fire drill. Seriously going to have a heart attack at any moment. As you can see from the photo this one was a little blurry so holding my hands still was a bit of a challenge.
Finally making it to level 13 where I sat down on the stairs for a moment before going into office. The stair well was so stuffy and warm I had sweat dripping down my back and between my boobs and it was only 8am. Not a good way to start the working day needing a shower.
I have a USB fan on my desk so that got a bit of a work out cooling me down before I got changed, a few baby wipes and a can or two of deodorant and I was ready to face the day. :-)