I have a question for you veteran elk hunters. This year we were hunting a herd of elk on a West facing slope. The wind would normally turn up-mountain at about 9:30-10:00 every morning. We spotted a herd on an East facing slope and went after them one morning and were within about 100 yards (bow hunting), when suddenly the wind changed on us at about 7:30.
My question is, can I expect the wind to change earlier onan east facing slope due to the rising sun warming the slopeearlier than on a West facing slope.I'm working onmy strategies for next yearand this is something I need to get ironed out. Thanks!

Recently while elk huntign an east facing slope the wind blew from all four directions over a 15 min time period. Welcome to the west...

Silvertip pretty much summed up what I was going to say.

In my experience, thermals shift uphill almost immediately when the sun hits. So, yeah, an east face would start developing an updraft very shortly after sunrise, while a west face wouldn't turn until midmorning.

You will indeed note winds "blowing in all four directions", but the thermal updraft will quickly turnyour scentuphill.

Thanks everyone, I had a hunch that the thermals would change as the slope warmed up. I've also experienced fickle winds but the general change in updraft is what really fooled me on the East facing slope. Thanks a lot!