vertical drop
Sheer downward distance
Vertical drop is the difference in elevation between the top and bottom of a slope, measured straight down rather than along the surface.
The term appears most often in skiing, where resorts advertise their vertical drop as a measure of the mountain's scale: The resort boasts a vertical drop of 3,000 feet.
Amusement park rides and waterfalls are also measured this way.
- precipiceSteep rock face
- ski slopeMountain trail for descending
- black diamondExpert ski run marker
- cliffVertical rock wall
- free fallUnimpeded gravitational descent
freefall · terminal velocity · escarpment · plumb line · straight down · waterfall · airtime · mine shaft · bungee jump · altitude · zipline · gorge · elevator shaft · ravine · rappelling · canyon · thrill ride · drops
- measurementsheight, stature, meters, depth, pound
- projectile physicstrajectory, projectile motion, launch angle, velocity, gravity
- slope featuressteepness, gradient, grade, pitch, angle
- drop ridesfree fall, plunge
- ski resortsVail, Park City, Jackson Hole, Chamonix, St. Moritz
- terrainhill, mountain, valley, peak, slope
directional movement
vertical dropelevation gain
Total altitude increase traveled
vertical climb · vertical lift · ascent · rise · climb