ascent

noun

Etymology: Formed from ascend on the model of descend/descent.

1. The act of ascending; a motion upwards.

   “He made a tedious ascent of Mont Blanc.”

2. The way or means by which one ascends.

   “There is a difficult northern ascent from Malaucene of Mont Ventoux.”

3. An eminence, hill, or high place.
4. The degree of elevation of an object, or the angle it makes with a horizontal line; inclination; gradient; steepness

   “The road has an ascent of 5 degrees.”

5. The ascender height in a typeface.
6. An increase, for example in popularity or hierarchy

   “That such a safe adaptation could come of The Hunger Games speaks more to the trilogy’s commercial ascent than the book’s actual content, which is audacious and savvy in its dark calculations.”