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Elles sont montées sur la colline pour l'arrivée.

Elles sont montées sur la colline pour l'arrivée.
They went up the hill for the arrival.
From Lesson 127:Past participle agreement with the subject (elles sont allées)·French

Questions & Answers about Elles sont montées sur la colline pour l'arrivée.

Why does montées have an extra -es at the end?
Because it's used with the helper verb être (sont), the past participle monté has to match the subject. Since the subject is Elles (a group of females, which is feminine and plural), we add an e for feminine and an s for plural, making it montées.
Why use sont (from être) instead of ont (from avoir) for this past tense?
Most verbs in the passé composé use avoir, but a specific group of verbs describing physical movement or a change of state use être. Monter (to go up / to climb) is one of these movement verbs, often remembered as part of the 'DR MRS VANDERTRAMP' list.
Does adding the -es to montées change how it is pronounced?
No, it sounds exactly the same as the masculine singular form, monté. The extra -es is a silent spelling change required by French grammar rules.
The English translation says 'went up the hill', but isn't sur the word for 'on'?
Yes, sur usually translates to 'on'. In French, you don't literally say 'go up a hill' using a direction word like English does. Instead, you say you go 'onto' the hill (sur la colline). The 'going up' part is already built into the meaning of the verb monter.
Is l'arrivée related to the verb arriver?
Exactly! Arriver is the verb meaning 'to arrive', and une arrivée is the noun meaning 'an arrival'. It is very common in French to see feminine nouns created from verbs by adding -ée.

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