What is "Vertical Distance Travelled" when its measured on a treadmill?

Question

I was using a new treadmill yesterday at the gym and noticed one of the items it was keeping track of was something called Vertical Distance Travelled. I tried googling it but couldn't find anything useful or in everyday English. What is it and why should I know it?

Answer 1

Vertical distance is based the on the slope of the treadmill. If you don't use the slope then you won't travel any vertical distance. Mountain climbers and hikers like to keep track of this so they know if they are ready to climb to a certain level or not.