Shade Calculator Help

Select a route

Choose a region and crag from the dropdown menus. Optionally select a specific route to see its detailed sky chart. If you only select a crag, you'll see an overview of all routes at that crag.

Change the date

Use the left/right arrows to step one day at a time, or click the date field to open a date picker. The Today button jumps back to the current date. All sun/shade times update instantly when the date changes.

Crag overview

When a crag is selected, you'll see a stacked bar chart showing every route's sun and shade times at a glance. Click any route bar to jump to its detailed sky chart below.

The summary line at the top shows when shade first arrives across the crag. Because different routes go into shade at different times, you can move between routes during the day to stay in the shade (or the sun) for longer. Use the bars to plan which routes to climb and in what order — start on the routes that lose shade earliest, then move to the ones that stay shaded later.

Sun window

The large time display shows the intervals when your route receives direct sunlight. Below it you'll see the total hours of direct sun and shade for the day.

Timeline bar

The horizontal bar gives a visual breakdown of the day:

• Dark grey = night (before sunrise / after sunset)
• Blue = daylight but in shade (sun is below the terrain)
• Orange/gold = direct sunlight hitting the route

Chart axes

The horizontal axis shows compass bearing (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW). The vertical axis shows elevation angle in degrees above the horizon. Together they map out the sky as seen from the base of the route.

Terrain silhouette

The filled area along the bottom represents the mountains, cliffs and ridges that block the sun. When the sun is behind this silhouette, the route is in shade. The terrain profile is captured from the actual location using the companion app's camera.

Winter solstice arc

The blue dashed line shows the sun's path on December 21st — the lowest arc the sun takes across the sky all year. Hour markers along the arc show the time of day.

Summer solstice arc

The orange dashed line shows the sun's path on June 21st — the highest arc the sun takes all year.

Sun band

The yellow filled area between the two solstice arcs shows the annual range the sun travels through. On any given day of the year, the sun's arc will fall somewhere within this band.

Selected date arc

The thick solid line shows the sun's path on your chosen date. It is coloured in two ways:

• Orange = sun is above the terrain (direct sunlight)
• Dark grey = sun is behind the terrain (shade)

Hour markers

The dots with labels along each arc indicate the time of day. On the selected date arc, these appear as white-and-orange dots with the hour shown above.

Crossing points

Where the selected date arc meets the terrain silhouette, you'll see circled points with time labels at the top of the chart. These mark the exact times the sun goes behind or emerges from the terrain — the precise shade/sun transition times.

Photo overlay

Some routes have terrain photos captured from the base. Toggle Show photos to overlay these on the chart, giving you a real-world view of the skyline. Use the Prev/Next buttons to step through individual photos, or Show all to see them tiled together.