Look Out Below

The volume of air beneath you is of great importance to all aspects of the eternal pursuit of more and better lift.  Whether soaring above a flat valley, a canyon, or a mountain, whether using thermals, slope lift, shear, or even wave, the amount of air available to be raised will largely determine the consistency and duration of usable lift.  A spectacular mountainside, if it stands above a narrow canyon, may offer little or no lift of any kind.  Yet if some visually unimpressive hill nearby stands adjacent to a large enough body of movable air, it might be a prolific lift source.  This may seem an obscure subtlety, but its applications are nearly universal, so think of it before deciding where to go next, rather than afterward.