Tyreless wrote:I don't know the answer but the difference isn't as great as first thought. An example I read: climbing Howitt Spur from Howqua River to peak of Mt Howitt - 5000m horizontal and 800m vertical. Assuming it's a triangle then the distance (hypotenuse) is 5,064m, only 64m longer. But try telling your legs that.....
Wow I missed yours Tyreless as I just had a quick squizz while I was working. Not much to get excited about there is there.
It is likely not really a triangle as there will be more ups and downs in real life but the error is likely to be a small percentage and distance more than expected in training terms.
We can't be bragging about powering up a near vertical cliff for blah blah kilometres when we actually did less
I suppose when it's all said and done the slopes we walk are not much more than say 30 percent. A lot I walk are around 23 or so percent and they are hard yakka.
I saw someone write of a hands and knees vertical cliff that he had to "walk" (perhaps negotiate is a better description) carrying a heavy pack.
It was probably only 45 around degrees (50%) which is very hard to get traction on by foot in my experience, even on a good surface.