MAKING PLANS FOR the first Pine Mountain 500 Stair Climb set for Aug. 4 are, from left, Benjamin Wood, Rotary Club president; Rotary Club members Dan Wentarmini and Dave McCash; and Melissa Wentarmini, race director for the Pine Mountain 500 on Giant Pine Mountain. (Theresa Proudfit/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Ready to tackle the stairs at Giant Pine Mountain?

The Rotary Club of Iron Mountain will provide the opportunity this summer with a new, one-of-a-kind event at the venue.

The Pine Mountain 500 King of the Mountain event offers a gradual 2.5-mile walk/run downhill before hitting the daunting, 500-step outdoor stairs at Pine Mountain.

“We think this can turn into a signature event for the area,” said Benjamin Wood, president of Rotary Club. “We wanted to utilize the ski jump as a landmark, and hopefully it will turn into a summer weekend that brings people from out of town this year and into the future. The Pine Mountain 500 could turn into something pretty cool, like the summer version of the ski jumps.”

Said Melissa Wentarmini, race director for the Pine Mountain 500, “it is such a unique feature. If you look, there are very few continuous outdoor staircases in the United States, so we are pretty fortunate to have this here.”

The event will start at 9 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 4, at the top of the stairs. Participants will head down Kramer Drive, loop around and come out at the bottom of Hibbard and then come back around Pine Mountain Road before climbing the stairs.

“We have a lot of the registrations from other states — people who do stair-running events, specifically,” Wentarmini said.

But even those who haven’t walked or run a similar event are welcome to participate in this new event.

“We tried to design it to be friendly to all ages and abilities. We will have two timing mats. People will get an overall time and also how long it took to do the stairs. It gives a lot of different abilities a chance to do well,” Wentarmini said.

Almost every major employer in the area is sponsoring the event, Wood said.

All ages and abilities are encouraged to attend, and awards will be given for age groups from 5 years old to more than 70. Overall course times will be recognized as well, along with the prestigious King and Queen of the Mountain titles for those with the fastest time on the stairs. “We wanted to make this a family-friendly event,” Wood said. “There is a competitive piece to it, but we also want to bring in the families that just want to walk the course together.”

For more information such as course map and registration forms, go to www.PineMountain500.com or email Wentarmini at mwentarmini@dickinsonareacf.org.