Quantify one continuous uphill segment from horizontal map distance, start-to-finish elevation rise, and elapsed climbing time.
km
m
min
Average Grade
6.0%
Vertical Ascent Rate
600m/h
Rise per Distance
60m/km
Average grade = vertical rise ÷ horizontal distance × 100. VAM is vertical rise in meters ÷ elapsed hours; the converted display is average vertical ascent rate. Rolling routes with descents need separate analysis.
About Hill Grade & VAM Calculator
For one continuous uphill segment, calculate average percent grade from start-to-finish rise and horizontal map distance, plus VAM from user-supplied elapsed time and elevation gain per kilometer or mile.
Calculate grade and vertical ascent rate for one continuous climb
Use horizontal map distance, start-to-finish rise, and your own elapsed time for one continuous uphill segment. The calculator keeps percent grade, VAM, and elevation gain per distance separate because they answer different questions.
Grade is rise divided by horizontal run
Percent grade equals start-to-finish vertical rise divided by horizontal distance, multiplied by 100. Both FHWA and USGS definitions use horizontal or map distance for the run, not the longer distance traced along the sloped surface.
For a climb that rises 600 meters over 10 kilometers of horizontal map distance, average grade is 600 ÷ 10,000 × 100 = 6%. Enter the same physical run and rise in miles and feet and the percentage remains unchanged.
Use one predominantly continuous uphill segment.
Use start-to-finish rise rather than cumulative gain from a rolling route.
Treat GPS and elevation-map values as measurements with finite precision.
VAM uses ascent and the time you supply
Average vertical ascent rate equals vertical rise divided by elapsed hours. With 600 meters of rise in 60 minutes, the result is 600 vertical meters per hour. Entering 30 minutes doubles that rate to 1,200 m/h without changing grade.
VAM conventionally means average ascent speed expressed in vertical meters per hour. When the site displays feet per hour in imperial mode, that is the equivalent converted vertical ascent rate, not a different climb or a new VAM definition.
The calculator uses exactly the elapsed time entered.
Including stops lowers the result; moving time and elapsed time should not be mixed in comparisons.
VAM is an ascent-rate measurement, not a benchmark band or training prescription.
Keep ascent density separate from grade
Elevation gain per distance divides rise by the entered horizontal distance and displays meters per kilometer or feet per mile. It is a useful way to describe how much climbing is packed into the segment, but it is not a substitute for the rise-over-horizontal-run definition of grade.
A rolling course can accumulate ascent while also descending, so one cumulative-gain value cannot honestly produce both average grade and VAM for the whole route. Split that route into continuous climbs or use a route-analysis tool with separate net rise and cumulative ascent data.
Frequently asked questions
Should I enter map distance or distance along the slope?
Enter horizontal map distance. Percent grade is vertical rise divided by horizontal run; using the longer sloped-surface distance produces a different quantity and increasingly understates steep grades.
Is VAM the same as vertical speed in feet per hour?
They represent the same physical ascent rate after conversion, but VAM is conventionally expressed in vertical meters per hour. Feet per hour is the imperial vertical-ascent-rate representation.
Can I use total elevation gain from a rolling route?
Not for average grade. This page assumes one continuous uphill segment where start-to-finish rise represents the ascent. A rolling route needs separate net-rise and cumulative-ascent treatment.