Imagine crossing a hill and finishing at your starting elevation. Zero height difference does not erase the climb. This is an illustrative scene.

Same finishing height, but a climb remains

Nodavue’s fictional illustration · Not an actual San Francisco route

Height: arbitrary units

Travel from A to B to C

Endpoint height difference

0 − 0 = 0

Cumulative ascent

10

Descending does not subtract the climb.

The heights 0 → 10 → 0 are invented for explanation. Horizontal lengths cannot be used to measure distance or gradient.

Drew Edwards’s Flatten SF is a San Francisco route finder. Its explanation counts climbing as all uphill gains along the way, rather than the difference between endpoints. A slider trades distance against ascent.

Less climbing and gentler slopes are different, too. Think of a long, gradual rise versus a short, steep hill. The repository treats total ascent and avoiding steep sections as separate objectives.

The model omits surface quality and safety. Website and repository share a creator; we have neither walked the routes nor run the tool.

V’s view and read next

V’s view. An easy route hides several questions. Read the original map’s distance, climbing and steepness labels together.