How to tell if the route's you plan to climb are in the sun.

Now that it is July I want to show you how I check to see what routes are in the sun without setting foot outside. This method works for any area too so if you are traveling from area to be it can be very helpful. Also I would like to know if there are any other methods you may use to see if the routes are in the sun besides just looking what direction it is facing.

Method #1.
Requires a laptop.
Visit app.photoephemeris.com/
This app lets you see where the sun will be at any time of the day on any day of the year just by dragging the slider on the bottom of the page. There are apps that you can download for this but they are not free.
Here is an example

Sun for the day over the cathedral spires Sd

Method #2 is the same thing just on your phone

Install Exstate Golden Hour app (free for android) not sure if there is one for apple

Sun over sylvan Lake area

Method #3
Google Earth

Personally I think this method kind sucks and is not quite as accurate as the other two mentioned above especially for smaller cliffs but I thought I would just bring it up.

Open google earth / download it if you haven't already
Zoom to the area you are interested in and click on the sun icon near the top drag the slider to the time of day you are interested in.

Devils tower shade

Hope I saved a few drops of sweat this summer. Also this works for winter too so you don't freeze too much.

Very legit.

Method #4: Buy a guidebook for the area. Nowadays, many guidebooks tell you the sun/shade aspect

Method #5: Know that east and south-facing routes get good morning sun; north faces get less sun and west faces get afternoon sun. Of course, to know which way your route faces, refer to Method #4 or know the area well enough to make this call

Ask.

$5 compass
No cell service required

FrankPS wrote:Method #4: Buy a guidebook for the area. Nowadays, many guidebooks tell you the sun/shade aspect Method #5: Know that east and south-facing routes get good morning sun; north faces get less sun and west faces get afternoon sun. Of course, to know which way your route faces, refer to Method #4 or know the area well enough to make this call

unfortunately, most guidebooks that i have seen that have this info 'roughly' included don't really get it right most of the time. also, depends a lot on latitude and time of the year.

OP's link looks interesting, i will have to check it out.

This looks awesome! Thanks for posting!

google earth is enough for me.