The difficulty of a hike depends as much on physical effort as on the terrain or exposure to drops. To easily compare all the trails presented on this blog, I use the following scale.

The final score is calculated out of 10 points.

Criterion	Points
Effort (based on the effort index described below)
– Effort index < 15	1
– Effort index 15-25	2
– Effort index 25-35	3
– Effort index 35-45	4
– Effort index ≥ 45	5
Terrain
– Terrain sometimes steep or unstable	+1
– Occasional use of hands	+1
– Snowy terrain or technical sections	+1
Exposure to heights
– A few sections exposed to heights	+1
– Significant exposure to heights	+2

The effort index

The physical effort of a hike is estimated using an effort index that combines distance and positive elevation gain. I use the following formula:

In other words, 100 metres of ascent are considered equivalent to 1 kilometre of walking on flat terrain. This method makes it easy to compare very different hikes: a short but steep route can thus be more demanding than a long, relatively flat walk.

Example

A hike of 18 km with 1,200 m of positive elevation gain gives:

18 + 1200/100 = 30 → 3 effort points.

If the trail includes a few sections where the terrain is sometimes steep or unstable (+1) and where hands are needed (+1), as well as a few sections exposed to drops (+1), the final score is:

3 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 6/10