King Mountain Wide Open – US Paragliding Competitions

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Event Information:

The King Mountain Wide Open will be September 5-12, 2026. The legend of King returns! Big, big, big air. 5 mountain ranges. Vast snake river plain desert. Insane potential for going big in all directions and monster FAI potential. HUGE XC lines across Idaho’s remote and wild landscapes and even a possible task all the way to Jackson Hole, WY. Welcome to the King Mountain Wide Open! This is a USHPA National Championship series Cat 2 event AND Pre PWC that promises strong conditions and long tasks that take advantage of deep, tall mountain ranges and high-desert flatlands. Participants should be very comfortable with flying in strong thermals at high altitudes and the use of supplemental O2.

Get a feel for the remarkable area with this short film shot by Matt Beechinor and edited by Gavin McClurg back in 2014!

WHEN:

5-12 September 2026 (5th is a practice day)
Daily pre-flight briefing at headquarters local time (i.e. Mountain Standard Time, UTC-7): 09:00

WHERE:

Headquarters: The event is based at King Mountain Glider Park (http://www.kingmountaingliderpark.com/) in Moore Idaho. Camping is basic but a very very very cool scene. Drinking water and toilets are available but otherwise should be self-supported.

Coordinates (decimal degrees lat.°,long.°): 43.7630556,-113.3438889.

Airport FAA identifier is ID36.

Getting there:

The closest airport to Moore, Idaho (the King Mountain Glider Port is our base, which is in Moore at the base of the King Mountain Launch) is Idaho Falls (IDA), a 69 minute drive. Next closest is Hailey, Idaho (SUN), which is a 90 minute drive. Twin Falls (TWF) is 2:18 drive. The closest large airports and are much more widely served internationally (and are typically much cheaper) are Boise (BOI) which is 3 hours, and Salt Lake City (SLC) which is 3 1/2 hours. We recommend renting a car or camper van if coming from out of state.

Selection and Registration

Registration opens on CIVL on April 2nd, 2026 at 1200 MST

Minimum qualifications: P4 or International equivalent. You can expect strong conditions in Idaho even in mid September and very high altitudes. If you do not have a P4 or international equivalent please contact the race organization with your flying background if you feel the King Mountain Wide Open suits your ability. You can expect to fly 100+ miles on good days.

Details on Pilot Qualifications here.

Full Details on Local Rules and Regulations here.

Cost

Entry fee is $600 USD for early payment (April 1-April 15). The top 15 NTSS pilots will receive a $50 USD discount on the event fee. Rankings will be as of April 1st, 2026. International pilots ranked in the top 400 in the WPRS will receive a $100 USD discount on the entry fee. The price increases to $650 USD after the early payment period. You might be wondering why comps in the US are so expensive?

Cancellation Policy

Any pilot who cancels their registration will be given a refund as follows:

Cancellation date more than 75 days before competition start date: 50% refund
Cancellation date between 75 and 45 days before competition start date: 30% refund
Cancellation date less than 45 days before competition start date: 0% refund

Inability to attend due to COVID or any other related travel reasons is not a reason for a refund of an amount greater than the above percentages and stated times. Please ensure you have adequate travel insurance to cover any last minute cancellations.

Cancellation of a Competition by the Organization
In the event the organizers deem it necessary to cancel, relocate, or reschedule the competition you will be entitled to a partial refund. This will be on the scale as follows:

Up to 45 days before the first official event day: 100% less a $50 admin charge
45 to 0 days before the first official event day: An amount equivalent to the amount paid less the amount spent by the organisation in preparations up to that time.

After the start of the competition, any refunds will be at the sole discretion of the organizers.

The organizers will not be liable for any costs incurred by anyone attending, or intending to attend the event, or any consequential losses arising from the cancellation, relocation, or rescheduling of the event.

Schedule

Event days: September 5, 2026 – September 12, 2025

Saturday September 5th:

Practice Day (transport will be provided to launch but no retrieve will be organized)
1600–1830 — Official Registration and equipment inspection at the King Mountain Glider Park gazebo.
1830 — Mandatory Safety and Race Briefing immediately following registration

Sunday Sept 6 – Saturday Sept 12

Contest flying days (7)

Saturday September 12

1900—Prize Giving
Closing Ceremonies
BBQ for pilots, family, and friends
An EPIC Party (not organized by this organization, but by our awesome pilots)!

Mandatory Equipment

Garmin InReach or other suitable satellite tracker (we strongly suggest Garmin InReach over SPOT). We do not have units to lend, but we can arrange a 20% discount on purchase through Garmin. You will be provided a one month upgrade to their “Premiere Plan” which provides for unlimited texting and 2 minute tracking at no charge. You must already have the “Safety” or “Recreation” plan on your device. To correctly set up your device go here. PLEASE DO THIS BEFORE YOU ARRIVE!
Headlamp
External battery for your phone

Oxygen

Flying with oxygen is HIGHLY recommended. You can expect long tasks and very high altitudes, and oxygen helps you keep from getting hypoxic (which can be dangerous), helps you think more clearly and helps you stay warm.

An outside vendor (Doug Patrick) will have oxygen kits for rent or purchase (he we will buy back after the comp for a small fee). Doug has complete units (tanks, regulator, cannulas) available for rent for $150 + $100 deposit. Unlimited refills for $50 for the week, or $15 per fill. Canulas and basic carrying case will be provided for the comp systems. These units and regulators operate similar to more expensive “pulse” conserving technology systems at a very good price. Feel free to reach out with questions.

For those who desire the “best in class”, research “Mountain High Sport oxygen systems” (https://www.mhoxygen.com/). They run about $1200. We cannot offer these systems, but have arranged a 10% discount with Mountain High. Use the discount “RRWO-10” at checkout (or order by phone) to get the discount.

Retrieve

The group cha t in conjunction with live trackers, the Flymaster Retrieve Bot and InReach tracking is used for coordinating pilot retrievals.

PLEASE set up your satellite tracker per these instructions: InReach set up instructions

Communications

Safety Radio frequency: 145.510 MHz (a USHPA member frequency)

Retrieve Radio frequency: 145.530

Emergency Radio Frequency: 145.590

King Mountain Wide Open Telegram Official Announcements

King Mountain Wide Open Telegram Group Chat

Medical Emergency

Our safety director, Justin Grisham, and his crew are all ER Physicians or wilderness medical experts.

Emergency Telephone
911

Nearest Hospital
Sevier County Hospital
1000 N Main St
Richfield, UT 84701
Phone: +1 (435) 893-4100

Flying in the Lost River Range Area

Launches

King

King is the main launch, at an altitude of 7381′ feet and faces West. King is one of the most famous XC launch sites in the world and is known for strong conditions. King was host to many Hang Gliding events in the past and then suffered a long period of very little use but in recent years has been relit with passion and is seeing very regular paragliding and hangliding flights once again. Matt Beechinor broke the Idaho out and back record from King in 25′. HUGE distances have been flown from King for decades. A list of the top flights.

Coyote

Just around the corner from King is N facing Coyote, a favorite for evening glass off flights or on north days.

Antelope Pass

This just-discovered launch (Gavin McClurg is the only one we know of who has flown it) is an E facing launch that makes earlier launches possible with immediate access to big terrain in the White Knob mountains and Southern Pioneer mountains.

Big Windy

This launch in the Lemhi Range could be the future site of the biggest out and backs in North America. It looks to have incredible potential but as of yet remains untested.

The fall colors will be setting in and the terrain is nothing short of mind-boggling. Expect long and varied tasks (FAI triangles, downwinders, and out and backs) that utilize the most of every day.

Airspace

None other than Class A (18,000′)

How should I dress for flying? How cold is it?

Daily temperatures on the ground in Idaho in September are typically around 65–75 F (18-24C), but we can get VERY tall in this area — frequently 15,000’–18000’ (4572–5486 M). 18,000’ is Class A airspace which we CANNOT violate and will result in a zero. At these heights temperatures can be at 0° C (32 F) or colder. Think Alps in the spring on a cold day. DRESS WARM for flying — big gloves, hand warmers, or electric gloves and a big puffy.

Prize Fund and Scoring Categories

Awards given to the top three in each category: Open, Sprint, Masters and Women.

Staff

Organizer(s): Gavin McClurg and Logan Walters

Meet Director: Logan Walters

Medical and Safety: Justin Grisham

Weather: Reavis Sutphin-Gray

Scoring: Bill Hughes and Dave Wheeler

Method: Gap 2021, FTV 20%

Waypoints- all formats

Coming soon

LODGING (discounts are being arranged):

If you have the flexibility to bring camping stuff we highly recommend camping at the Glider Par, it’s a great scene. As of this time there is only water and porta potties, but by the time of the comp we plan to have a mobile kitchen for staff. There is no electricity.

ATTRACTIONS:

There are a TON of awesome things to do on weather days. Do a day float on the Salmon River. Partake in some of the countries best fly-fishing. Hike any number of Idaho’s tallest peaks. Explore Craters of the Moon National Monument. Zip over to the Wood River Valley (Ketchum and Sun Valley) and mountain bike on more than 750 miles of single track.

Medical Emergency:

Telephone: 911

Nearest hospital: Lost Rivers Medical Center: 551 Highland Dr, Arco, ID 83213; telephone: +1-208-252-7654

Staff: