Strava sez 249,000 feet elevation gain this year, for just over 6,000 miles and 352 rides. Pretty sure that includes about 20% indoor trainer sessions.
I'm not a strong climber so I converted my steel road bike from 52/42 chainring and 13-24 freewheel to 50/39 and 13-25, then currently 50/38 and 13-28. But I've gotten stronger and don't often need the 38T chainring and 28T big cog anymore. Not many long steep climbs here. Mostly short punchy steep sprint-climbs, and some 2% grades over 2 miles or so.
My '93 Trek 5900 weighs 5 lbs less so I've kept the 52/42 Biopace (different, interesting) and various freewheels and cassettes ranging from 14-28 freewheel to 11-28 cassette. I do use the 42/28 combo pretty often.
I've been working on climbing and don't dread it quite so much. I'm very middling on most Strava climbing segments, but there are a few where I'm top ten or close to it. My guess is it's a combination of relatively few people tackling those segments, and something about the pavement and wind conditions suiting me well. On paper those climbs where I'm faster don't look any easier. But in actual riding conditions they feel very different. Smooth asphalt instead of chipseal. Inline with prevailing winds. Even a barely perceptible 3 mph tailwind helps. Or I just happened to have good legs that day. Dunno. I'm very inconsistent on climbs. It's more of a mental game than most riding conditions.