Mt Ripinski

• Wind directionE (90°) → SW (225°)
• Ideal speed5–12 mph
• Upper limits≤ 15 mph base · gusts ≤ 18

Mt Ripinski (locally "Ripinsky"), a ~3,484-3,675 ft summit immediately north of Haines, AK in the Takshanuk Mts. NOT a developed/documented flying site — no club, USHPA chapter, ParaglidingEarth, or XContest site guide with explicit wind numbers was found. It is a hike-and-fly: a popular day-hike summit, and pilots have flown off it (a KHNS news report describes a Czech pilot who climbed Ripinski intending to paraglide down). Treat as advanced/expert, self-reliant hike-and-fly only. Wind window inferred from orientation hint (all 8 octants N,NE,E,SE,S,SW,W,NW listed = effectively omnidirectional summit launch — choose a launch face for the wind). Geometry: the summit rises ~3,500 ft above Haines, the Chilkat Inlet/Chilkat River and Lynn Canal to the S/SE/E (water), so the natural primary launch faces toward town and the inlet (roughly E through S, ~90-225 deg met). Off-direction (W/NW, ~225-90) is marginal/lee depending on which knoll you launch from. HAZARDS / NOTES: Strong marine winds funnel up Lynn Canal and the Chilkat valleys — gusty, channeled flow common; rotor on lee faces in any appreciable gradient. Coastal SE Alaska = rapidly changing maritime weather, low cloud/marine layer, cold. Snow lingers high into early summer (deep snow has turned pilots back). Best in light, stable morning conditions or weak post-frontal flow before thermals/inflow build; avoid any strong synoptic or strong up-canal wind. No retrieve infrastructure, remote — fly conservatively. Speed numbers are conservative estimates, not site-verified.