ascent

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
ascent/əˈsent/

▶noun

• 1 a climb to the summit of a mountain.

  ■ an upward slope.

• 2 an instance of rising through the air.

  ■ a rise in status.

– origin C16: from ascend, on the pattern of the pair of descend, descent.