Pipe Routing

I'm trying to connect the piping as shown in attached drawing. Is there a way to run the piping up and down (in the z direction) without using the elevation properties under the pallette?

I guess I don't really understand how UCS works...

On the command line you should see the options you are looking for. Type "C" to toggle the compass on and off. Type "P" to toggle the compass through the different planes. When you see the compass plane standing up in the direction you want enter a value or click from there. For me, when I am routing conduit, the compass does not have 11.25, 15 or 22.5 degree bends which are available as manufactured bends. So at this point after the plane is set right I type C, to turn off the compass, make sure ortho is off, hit F12 to toggle on direct entry, head the mouse in the direction and type in my degree.

I just checked 2014 and it does have 15 and 22.5 available on the compass, but as usual it does not want to snap to 22.5. At times there is so many things to toggle on and off, and set in the properties pallet, it can get confusing trying to tame it to get the right bend in the right spot. After a while it will get like muscle memory. For me there is time between Jobs so my memory fades

Here's a link showing an example of exactly how Hertz explained it:

http://screencast.com/t/oG1mKZecwc31

Notice that the Compass does not have to be enabled for the Plane toggle to work while the Pipe Add tool is active. Works great. Also note, that if you simply run the current pipe close to the existing pipe, it'll give you connect routing options. Can be useful at times.