From the western side of Ephel Dúath, there was no road to the high pass of Cirith Ungol. That pass could only be reached by two long flights of Stairs, the Straight Stair and the Winding Stair. The lower stretch, the worn and dangerous Straight Stair was the shorter of the two Stairs, leading up to a dark passage in the mountains. Passing along that narrow route, a traveller would find themselves at the base of the Winding Stair.
The Winding Stair was by far the longer of the two flights, but was said to be less difficult than the lower Straight Stair. It climbed up a high sloping cliff face beneath Cirith Ungol, winding back and forth across the rockface as it made its steep ascent. At its highest point it turned into a last straight flight of steps that led on into Cirith Ungol itself. That deep and jagged ravine led through the Mountains into Mordor, and was watched over by the dark Tower of Cirith Ungol, from whose upper levels the head of the Winding Stair could be watched.
Notes
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We do not know when the Stairs of Cirith Ungol were carved into the rock leading up to the pass, but they were evidently very old at the end of the Third Age. This pass was known during the War of the Last Alliance at the end of the Second Age (when it was named Cirith Dúath rather than Cirith Ungol), and so the Winding Stair must have existed at that date (otherwise the pass would have been impossible to reach from the west). This means that the Stair must have been at least three thousand years old - and possibly much older still - when Frodo and Sam used it to enter Mordor.
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- Updated 4 December 2023
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