Eli5: does it require the same amount of energy to walk a loop, say in the mountains, with very uneven elevation changes and slopes,whether you walk it one direction or the other?

Question

Eli5: does it require the same amount of energy to walk a loop, say in the mountains, with very uneven elevation changes and slopes,whether you walk it one direction or the other?

In: Physics

Answer 1

Mathematically, yes. Whenever you go down in one direction, you must come up an equal amount before you can reach your starting point. Vice versa for moving up.

In reality, there can be some differences in how much effort you must put in (e.g. walking a long slope downhill is easier than having to scale down a vertical cliff) but the amount of elevation change you go through is the same in both directions.