The phrase "a number of steep" is not correct and usable in written English as it is incomplete.
It can be used when referring to multiple steep items or concepts, but it requires additional context to be grammatically correct.
Example: "A number of steep hills made the hike more challenging than we anticipated."
Alternatives: "several steep" or "many steep".
We were in the cheaper seats high up, which meant climbing up a number of steep steps.
We did have to haul ourselves along the Inca Trail, a high-altitude path with a number of steep ascents and descents.
"I cannot offer that and meanwhile I don't believe that I need to be a sacrificial lamb, travelling a number of steep inclines that have yet to be fixed".
But stem cell research in the United States faces a number of steep hurdles.
It contains some very uneven terrain, with cliffs, boulders and a number of steep slopes.
But the kingdom was low lying and in order to protect the land a number of steep embankments or dykes had been built.
There they met with a number of spiritual teachers steeped in the Eastern philosophy of giving back and community service, including the Dalai Lama.
Analysts have attributed the rapid decline in confidence to a number of factors, including the steep fall in many technology stocks, the rash of recent layoff announcements and the degree to which the Bush administration has emphasized the economy's weaknesses, partly to build support for its tax cut proposal.
The city has struggled with its finances for some time, driven by a number of factors, including a steep population loss.
In the last year the number of organic farmers in Wales has fallen by 20% for a number of reasons, including the steep rise in the cost of organic feed for animals.
Furthermore, another 11,000 people in a number of villages on the steep eastern flanks of Fogo were exposed to over-spilling flows such as those that reached the east coast of the island in all eruptions between 1785 AD and 1857 AD.
