YooperMike

These type of stands are tough. You are giving up the advantage of even being in a treestand by setting up at eye level. For me, I get as far off the hill as I can, while still being able to hunt the deer that travel along it. By facing downhill, your movement will be much greater, having to turn around to see the deer. Facing uphill, you run the risk of perhaps sticking out more, but if your body is withing the frame of the tree, your movement will be much less noticeable, plus you won't be surprised by deer like you would if the majority of the traffic would be coming from the top of the hill toward you.

Jimmy S

Wind direction would be my primary concern. In the mornings, scent tends to move upward as the sun begins to heat the air. Conversly as the afternoon cools, a hunter's scent tends to move downward, closer to the ground. I would make adjustments as necessary.

Like others have mentioned, a stand off to one side may give a bigger advantage.

DeerandbearhoG

IME, wind is almost impossible to predict on hill set ups, because you will always get convection currents(swiling winds) as the wind blows against, and along the side of a ridge.

Bloodsaw

faceing downhill u run the risk of one right besie u and u not know, u move to scratch your head and they are gone...personally id take my chance and face em

DeerandbearhoG

What if the deer are traveling uphill? The fact is, you never know what direction theyll be traveling when you set up. IMO facing downward covers more bases, because if you are facing the hill, the deer will be at eye level at some point, but if youre facing downhill, the tree will be in front of you, and if they are traveling uphill, you will be very high above their normal line of sight.

GTOHunter

I hunt a heavy wooded area and my ladder stand is set higher up-hill on a Ridge top and I face the stand down-hill with a large tree to my back and 2 out-stretched limbs that hide me on both sides,I have a great view of any movement on both sides and down hill.Most of the time if a Deer travels down hill behind me I let them get to the side of me or past me to shoot them,so far it has worked out great for the past 4 years and I have gotten a nice Deer out of the same stand each year!Oh yeah...I call my tree the "Hugging Tree" because the 2 lower branches reach out like they are hugging me while I'm on stand.Most of the Deer I have seen come up over the Ridge/Hill and either follow it down-hill or across and over the hillside,there is also a rub line on the right side of my stand that runs right past my stand.