Mountain Weather | Boldmethod

Watch mountain weather
from the cockpit.

Learn to read terrain, predict conditions, and make smart decisions before you leave the ground.

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$299.99 $239.99  |  Lifetime Access

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Climb into the cockpit and start learning about mountain weather. You'll experience mountain weather up close across the Appalachians, the Rockies, and the coastal ranges of California, so you can recognize what you're looking at before it becomes a problem.

If you think about how much this level of instruction would cost one on one, let alone if you could find someone at this level to give you the time, it's a no brainer.

Mountain Weather Customer

Course Overview

What's in the course?

Six chapters covering the weather systems that make mountain flying challenging.

Chapter 1
Chapter 01
Airflow and the Mountains
How terrain shapes airflow at a fundamental level, and why mountain weather behaves so differently from flat land weather.
Chapter 2
Chapter 02
Airflow Over the Mountains
Mountain waves, updrafts, downdrafts, rotors, and lenticular clouds. How to identify them in forecasts and in flight.
Chapter 3
Chapter 03
Airflow Around or Through the Mountains
Gap winds, convergence zones, Chinook and Foehn winds, and how terrain channels or deflects airflow around passes and ridges.
Chapter 4
Chapter 04
Diurnal Winds
Valley and slope winds that develop on a daily cycle driven by surface heating. How they shift from morning to evening and what that means for your departure and arrival times.
Chapter 5
Chapter 05
Mountain Thunderstorms
How thunderstorms develop over terrain, where hotspots form, and how to plan routes and departure times that keep you clear.
Chapter 6
Chapter 06
Meteorology Basics
A solid foundation in stability, circulation, and weather scales. If it's been a while since ground school, this chapter gets you up to speed before the rest of the course.

Real weather. Real decisions.

Every case study uses actual weather reports, forecasts, and footage so you can see how these conditions play out in real flying situations.

Wind River Range, WY
Sangre de Cristos, CO
Flying In Mountain Waves
What mountain wave activity looks like from the cockpit, how to use PIREPs and forecasts to plan around it, and what to do if you encounter it in flight.
Denver, CO
Trapped Lee Waves and Vertical Propagating Waves
Real reports, forecasts, and PIREPs from a wave event over the Denver Front Range, with a full debrief of how it developed.
Boulder, CO
Chinook Winds and a Hydraulic Jump
How a classic Chinook event develops along the Front Range, including the hydraulic jump that catches pilots off guard on approach.
Seattle, WA
The Puget Sound Convergence Zone
How the Olympic Mountains split airflow and create a convergence zone over the Sound, generating clouds and turbulence that don't show up in a simple TAF.
Portland, OR
Columbia River Gorge Winds
The pressure-driven gap winds that funnel through the Gorge east of Portland, and how they affect VFR operations at airports along the corridor.
Phoenix and greater Arizona
Thunderstorms and the North American Monsoon
How monsoon moisture drives afternoon storm development across the Southwest, with a full cross-country case study navigating around active cells.
Telluride, CO, Elizabethton, TN, Grand Junction, CO
Daily Wind Cycles in Three Valleys
Three different valley wind environments compared side by side, showing how the same principles play out differently based on terrain and geography.
Jackson, WY, Telluride, CO, Denver Front Range
Turbulence on Arrival and Departure
Real turbulence encounters on approach and departure at three mountain airports, with a breakdown of what caused them and how to anticipate similar conditions.
KBJC to KRIF and back
Cross Country Around Mountain Thunderstorms
A full cross-country flight from Rocky Mountain Metro to Richfield, Utah, navigating around active mountain thunderstorm development both ways.

Common questions.

Do I need to fly in the mountains to get value from this course?

No. These weather systems show up in hilly terrain across the country, not just the Rockies. If you fly anywhere with significant terrain, the concepts apply. That said, the course uses footage from the Appalachians, the Rockies, and the coastal ranges, so pilots planning trips over terrain will find it especially relevant.

How long is the course?

Over 14 hours of video. Lessons include summaries and interactive quizzes, and each chapter ends with a comprehensive test. You can work through it at your own pace.

Are there quizzes and tests?

Yes. Each lesson ends with a quiz, and each chapter ends with a test. You can retake them as many times as you want.

What devices does it work on?

Any web browser on PC, Mac, or Android. Plus dedicated iPhone and iPad apps that let you download lessons for offline viewing. One purchase, unlimited devices, lifetime access.

We'll help you fly the mountains with confidence.

Aleks and Colin flying the mountains

We're Aleks and Colin, the founders of Boldmethod. We fly mountain weather from the Appalachians to the coastal ranges of California, and what we've learned the hard way went straight into this course.

Every flight is filmed in real conditions, so you know exactly what mountain weather looks like before you're up in it.

What pilots are saying.

I'm blown away how well they understand and present potentially life saving knowledge about how to predict, avoid, and even fly through a mountain wave if you get caught. If you think about how much this level of instruction would cost one on one, it's a no brainer.

Mountain Weather Customer

I've been a Boldmethod customer for many years, and the content keeps getting better. It always feels professional and polished, authoritative and well-researched. This is a small company with real people who are truly working each day to make us better and safer pilots.

Mountain Weather Customer

I applied those guidelines today while flying to refine my approach and landing. I'm an experienced pilot with over a thousand hours but I still struggle sometimes. The result was a beautiful landing. Amazing how it all comes together when you know what to look for.

Boldmethod Customer

Your approach and clarity is something that was missing in my flight training years ago. You inspire me to knock off the rust and stay safe.

Boldmethod Customer

Ready to get started?

Mountain Weather Course

$299.99  $239.99

One-time purchase, lifetime access | 30-day money-back guarantee

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Questions? Call or text: 720-663-7754

Watch the full course overview