Flying in Central Idaho

The vast and rugged wilderness of central Idaho’s mountain ranges is immediately accessible to free flight by our preeminent XC launches: Mt. Baldy and King Mountain. Baldy also provides long and scenic glides in relatively smooth air in the winter and on summer mornings. In the right westerly conditions, Baldy’s west facing “Alabama” launch is a great evening soaring site.

Geography & Aerology: The geography of central Idaho plays a central roll in our XC environment. Mt Baldy sits on the south west edge of a massive upheaval of granite domes and ridges, otherwise known as the Idaho Batholith, which divides the Snake River Plain and the Salmon River watersheds. Our XC routes often cross this divide in various places. The mountain ranges to the east of Mt Baldy (Pioneer, Big Lost, Lemhi, and Beaverheads Mountains) mark the northern boundary of the Basin & Range region of the western US, as well as the boundary between the desert to the south and alpine region to the north. Air tends to come up all sides of these ranges, but the diurnal flow is often dominated by W and S winds drawn from the Snake River desert into low pressure zones over the high peaks. These local low pressure systems, created by powerful convergences, serve up some of the highest cloud bases on the continent. On good XC days, expect strong valley winds below peak height in anything that looks like a valley.

Weather: For current and forecasted conditions, go here.

Airspace: Please do not fly through Hailey Airport or INL airspaces.