Mount Marston

• Wind directionSSE (160°) → WSW (250°)
• Ideal speed5–12 mph
• Upper limits≤ 15 mph base · gusts ≤ 18

No site-specific flying-guide data was found for Mount Marston (48.7546, -114.795, ~6864 ft MSL) as an established launch. The peak is real and sits in the Flathead Valley free-flight region of NW Montana (Columbia Falls/Whitefish area, near Glacier NP). The local USHPA-affiliated club, the Flathead Valley Soaring Association (formed 2024), publishes a site guide that documents only the Checkerboard launch near Mt. Aeneas (SW-facing, ideal 200-220 deg, ~6 mph, max 8 mph) and does NOT list Mount Marston. ParaglidingEarth, XContest, and pilot-report searches returned nothing site-specific. Wind window below is INFERRED from the paraglidingEarth orientation hint (working octants SE, S, SW, W) plus general high-altitude mountain-launch practice. Ideal arc set to the S-through-SW core (160-250 deg) where the launch faces most directly into wind; marginal/cross arc extends to the SE (~120 deg) and W (~285 deg) edges where flow becomes cross or risks rotor off adjacent terrain. Speeds are conservative defaults for a ~6,900 ft summit launch: light-to-moderate ideal (5-12 mph), base cap ~15 mph, gust cap ~18 mph; thin high-altitude air means true airspeed/groundspeed run higher than sea-level, so treat upper limits cautiously. Likely best flown mid-morning to early afternoon before strong valley thermals/overdevelopment; expect lee-side rotor and venturi from surrounding ridgelines on N/E winds (outside the working arc). Rating/access unknown - verify launch legality, access road (NFD Road 900 reportedly reaches the summit), LZ, and current conditions with the Flathead Valley Soaring Association (flatheadsoaring@gmail.com) before flying. Treat all numbers as rough placeholders, not validated site data.