Sebastian Albrecht climbed North Vancouver's Grouse Grind trail 14 times on Monday, breaking his own record. (CBC)

A Vancouver man has broken his own record for the most ascents of the Grouse Grind trail in a single day.

Just after 11 p.m. Monday, Vancouver real estate agent Sebastian Albrecht, 35, reached the top of the mountain trail for the 14th time since he began at 6:30 a.m.

Albrecht told CBC News on Tuesday morning he was moving gingerly after the trek, which took an estimated 40,000 steps.

"[I'm] pretty exhausted. I mean, it just takes every ounce of mental and physical strength that you have, so I'm in need of recovery," he said.

The Grouse Grind, known locally as "nature's Stairmaster," is a 2.9-kilometre hiking trail that runs from the Grouse Mountain gondola base in North Vancouver up to the ski lodge on the edge of the mountain.

It is an extremely steep and mountainous climb with an average grade of 30 degrees.

The previous record was 13 climbs in a single day, which Albrecht shared with Vicki Mann.

The trail takes an estimated 90 minutes for the average hiker to complete. Albrecht averaged about 55 minutes per ascent.

Albrecht had additional motivation for the climb — he hopes to raise $15,000 for the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, which provides funding for women's shelters and domestic abuse prevention programs.

As of Tuesday, he had raised nearly $4,000 and said he would be accepting donations for another week.

Albrecht said this would be his last attempt to top his own record.