ascent
     n 1: an upward slope or grade (as in a road); "the car couldn't
          make it up the rise" [syn: {acclivity}, {rise}, {raise},
           {climb}, {upgrade}] [ant: {descent}]
     2: a movement upward; "they cheered the rise of the hot-air
        balloon" [syn: {rise}, {rising}, {ascension}] [ant: {fall}]
     3: the act of changing location in an upward direction [syn: {rise},
         {ascension}, {ascending}]
Source: WordNet® 2.0