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Pickle Butte

ID
43.4920°, -116.7220° Directions ↗
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Showing Paragliding — switch wings up top ↑
Not flyable
Medium confidence · · Run: HRRR
The sun has set — no daylight left to fly
NESW 239° WSW
Current conditions
Flyability score
72
/100 · paragliding
Wind
1
mph base
Gusts
4
mph
Direction
WSW
239°
Aloft
5
W @ridge
Thermals
Calm
base ~8864ft
Temp
80°
F
Cloudbase
11,859
ft MSL
Elevation
2,995
ft MSL
Sunrise
6:34 AM
local
Sunset
9:11 PM
local
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Where it is

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Flyable Caution / slim window Not flyable
What we look for at Pickle Butte

Wind direction

NW (315°) → NE (45°)

The wind must blow from within this arc. Direction is the same for both wings.

Ideal speed

6–15 mph

Ceiling · Paragliding

≤ 19 mph base · gusts ≤ 23

Top of the range for paragliding (any rating) — switch wings up top to compare. Hang gliders hold roughly 10 mph more than paragliders.

Prominent ~550 ft butte near Nampa with three launches, flyable year-round including winter. Works on any wind from NW through N to NE; the main launch (Red Rock Rd) has hang and paraglider launches and a windsock, and the west launch covers more westerly days. Ridge-soarable in steady breeze and thermic for XC, but midday can get strong and gusty and the LZ is rocky. Easy 2WD road; private/county land, so respect the rules. Mostly P2-friendly, treat strong days as P3.

Next 7 days How calls are made

Thursday Flyable flyable 1pm–8pm
6a
3g4
SE
7a
7g9
ESE
8a
3g3
NE
9a
2g5
NNE
10a
1g5
NW
11a
1g8
ESE
12p
4g5
SE
1p
5g5
NNW
2p
5g5
N
3p
8g8
N
4p
10g10
NNW
5p
9g10
NNW
6p
9g9
N
7p
7g10
N
8p
6g11
NNW
9p
4g5
WSW
Flyable 1pm–8pm — best around 3pm: 8 mph N, gusts 8.
🌅 Wonder windGlass-off possible 7pm–8pm — smooth, light N ~7 mph, clear evening sky, weak daytime heating.
✓ Light, smooth wind✓ Straight in the window– Wind dying off into evening✓ Clear skies (radiative cooling)– Day built a thermal layer
Friday Flyable flyable 6am–12pm
6a
8g11
NW
7a
6g9
WNW
8a
6g11
WNW
9a
9g13
NW
10a
9g11
NW
11a
7g7
NW
12p
3g8
NW
1p
3g8
SE
2p
6g7
SE
3p
3g4
SE
4p
3g3
N
5p
7g7
NNW
6p
8g8
N
7p
8g9
NNE
8p
5g8
ENE
9p
4g4
N
Flyable 6am–12pm — best around 10am: 9 mph NW, gusts 11.
🌅 Wonder windGlass-off possible 7pm–9pm — smooth, light N ~4 mph (a touch cross), clear evening sky, the day heated up well.
✓ Light, smooth wind– Edge of the window– Wind dying off into evening✓ Clear skies (radiative cooling)✓ Day built a thermal layer
Saturday Flyable flyable 8am–12pm
6a
7g11
NW
7a
7g12
NNW
8a
9g11
N
9a
10g11
N
10a
10g11
N
11a
8g12
N
12p
7g10
N
1p
8g13
NNE
2p
6g15
N
3p
7g18
NNE
4p
10g19
NNE
5p
11g17
NNE
6p
15g19
NNW
7p
11g25
WNW
8p
10g26
NW
9p
11g26
NW
Flyable 6am–1pm — best around 8am: 9 mph N, gusts 11. 6 clean hrs, the rest borderline.
Sunday Not flyable no window
6a
12g26
NW
7a
12g25
NW
8a
12g24
NW
9a
12g24
NW
10a
12g25
NW
11a
12g26
NW
12p
12g26
NW
1p
12g26
NW
2p
12g26
NNW
3p
11g25
NNW
4p
11g25
NNW
5p
12g25
NNW
6p
11g24
N
7p
9g22
NNW
8p
6g18
NNW
9p
5g16
NW
Too gusty — gusts past the 22 mph limit through the day.
Monday Caution workable 8am–10am
6a
10g22
WNW
7a
11g20
WNW
8a
11g19
WNW
9a
12g18
WNW
10a
11g18
NW
11a
11g19
NW
12p
10g20
NW
1p
10g19
NW
2p
10g18
NW
3p
10g17
NW
4p
10g18
NW
5p
10g18
NW
6p
10g19
NW
7p
8g18
NW
8p
6g18
WNW
9p
5g17
W
Borderline only 8am–10am — best around 3pm: 10 mph NW, gusts 17. All borderline — fly it with a close eye.
Tuesday Not flyable no window
6a
5g13
WNW
7a
5g14
WNW
8a
5g15
NW
9a
6g15
NW
10a
6g16
NW
11a
6g16
NW
12p
7g16
NW
1p
6g17
NNW
2p
5g18
NNW
3p
5g19
NNW
4p
5g18
NNW
5p
6g17
NNW
6p
6g16
NNW
7p
5g15
NNW
8p
3g15
NW
9p
2g15
WNW
No usable window today.
Wednesday Slim window flyable 6am
6a
1g5
SE
7a
0g6
SE
8a
0g8
N
9a
1g9
N
10a
1g10
NE
11a
2g11
ENE
12p
3g12
ENE
1p
2g14
ENE
2p
2g17
NE
3p
2g18
NNE
4p
3g18
N
5p
3g16
NNW
6p
4g15
NNW
7p
4g15
NW
8p
3g15
NW
9p
2g15
NW
Flyable 6am–8am — best around 6am: 1 mph SE, gusts 5. 1 clean hr, the rest borderline.
See the full 7-day & hourly forecast
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Conditions are an automated estimate from public forecast models, not a go/no-go call. Always check the sky, talk to locals, and fly within your rating. You are responsible for your own safety.