Our ladder has nice thick treads, so no discomfort (but I know what you guys are talking about, my DS had a bunk bed that was awful! We used pipe insulation on it and it helped a lot)
I'm gathering that the height is different between different rigs. I can't imagine just leaving a step ladder down there and successfully getting down in the middle of the night. I'm fit, practice yoga and do rock climbing, so it isn't that I'm fragile, it is just a long way down in our rig and I wouldn't want to try to aim my foot at a moveable stepladder at 3am. I don't usually sleep in the cabover, but I have done it when traveling with my friends for a girls weekend. But it sounds like some rigs have a shorter distance - or maybe y'all are taller than me!