Slope Line Table

Slope lines are mountain paths that require one hour for a typical mountain climber to traverse. The length of a slope line is variable, since an easy slope line will enable much better progress than will a challenging or hazardous slope line.

Number of Slope Lines

Mountains are divided into slope lines; the total number of slope lines indicates how long it will take to climb from the base of a given mountain to its top. High, precipitous mountains will be comprised of many slope lines, perhaps requiring several days to climb. A low hill of less than a thousand feet may comprise only one slope line ~ that is, the hill can be climbed in its entirety within a single hour.

Presently, the table below includes but four types of mountains, but this should be sufficient.

The "shield" mountain type is a form of conical mountain, in which the slope is excessively gradual. This type of mountain is usually a tropical volcano, like those found in East Africa. Kilimanjaro is a good example.

The table gives the number of slope lines per 1,000 feet of climb, depending on the elevation of the climber above the base of the mountain, and not its elevation above sea level. Thus, for a climb between 3 and 4 thousand feet above a pyramidal mountain's base, there would be 1 to 4 slope lines; and then another 1-4 slope lines for the next thousand feet.

The high number of slope lines for arêtes and shield types is due to the lengthy distance that usually needs to be trekked before reaching the principal climb on this type of mountain; usually, the climb itself does not require as much time as the approach.

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See Mountain Climbing