Originally Posted by smokepole
Originally Posted by KC
I like to hunt uphill, so that I can haul the elk down to my camp instead up to my camp. This arrangement is also often favored by morning winds which blow uphill more often than downhill.


I think you said that last part backwards.....


Yep. I wrote uphill but I was thinking downhill and therefore into camp from where I intend to hunt.

I guess it depends on whether or not the morning sun hits the slope.

If the sun hits the slope, then it will warm the surface and the air. Warm air rises.

If the slope is in the shade in the morning, then drafts will probably be going from the cold shadows to the warmer sunlit area, wherever that is. That may be downhill but might also be uphill, depending on the terrain.

So I guess you're right. It's not accurate to say that morning drafts go uphill or downhill. It depends on sun exposure and terrain. Notice that I wrote "often".

These basic facts of physics, which may affect the microclimate in a small area, may be totally overwhelmed by the prevailing wind, that in my experience seem to be most often out of the northwest in the Rocky Mountains. A study of the wind roses for airports might confirm or deny this personal impression.

I just took a look at the wind rose data for Colorado Springs Airport. It's interesting to note that for every month, the wind blows most often out of the north-northwest during the day and out of the south during the night.


http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/wea_windroseclim.pl?laKCOS






Wind in my hair, Sun on my face, I gazed at the wide open spaces, And I was at home.