What TEP means, and how climbs are categorised

TEP, Technical Effort Points, is VertMatch's score for what a climb costs your legs. Vertical gain alone treats every metre the same. TEP also asks how steep those metres are, and steep metres count for far more.

The formula

For a climb, TEP is its vertical gain measured against a 35 m baseline, multiplied by its average grade measured against a 23.3% baseline, raised to the power 1.6:

TEP = (vertical gain ÷ 35 m) × (average grade ÷ 23.3%)^1.6

So 35 m of climbing at 23.3% scores exactly TEP 1. The power of 1.6 is what makes steepness matter: double the grade and the second factor roughly triples.

Two climbs, both 1,000 m of vert:

• A 20 km fire road at 5%: 28.6 × 0.085 = about TEP 2.4.
• A 3 km vertical kilometre at 33%: 28.6 × 1.75 = about TEP 50, the most any single climb can score.

Same gain, twenty times the score. That matches what your legs report.

The five categories

• Minor (under 2): rollers and short steep pitches.
• Moderate (2–5): standard climbs, sustainable at a steady effort.
• Significant (5–10): a real aerobic test that forces most runners into a hiking gear.
• Major (10–20): race-defining climbs.
• HC (20 and over): Hors Catégorie, French for "beyond category". Cycling uses it for climbs too hard to fit the numbered categories. VertMatch uses it for its top band.

Two Chamonix climbs compared

• Montenvers from Les Planards: 850 m over 6.2 km at 14% average, TEP 11, Major.
• Bellachat from Les Moëntieux: 930 m over 4.9 km at 19% average, TEP 19, Major.

Bellachat has only 80 m more vert, but it packs it into 1.3 km less distance. The steeper grade lifts its TEP from 11 to 19. On a race profile, that's the difference between a climb you run and one you hike.

Where TEP comes from

The score is computed by VertMatch from each climb's elevation profile. Our TEP academy covers how it is used to compare a race's climbs with your training. See all trail running climbs by country.