To become and remain proficient in mountain flying there is no substitute for actual and real life training with an experienced flying instructor or mountain pilot. Reading these pages is just the beginning of that training. Survival training should be part too. Here we discuss the flying techniques that will show you how to do ridge crossings, valley flying and more.

Ridge crossings

Ridges or saddles can be best approached with a 45 degrees angle toward the ridge with the ridge to your left. The advantage of this position is a good view over the ridge and a shallow approach angle (which in turn gives a shallow escape angle). This technique will give you the minimum bank angle to turn away should the need arise if turbulence or the sink rate is to high. If you need to escape, choose for a shallow angle downhill and fly downstream. Knife edge ridges have an advantage compared to flat ridges as the time to cross the ridge is greatly reduced.

Approach the ridge in level flight with airspeed below Va and with your hand on the throttle, in anticipation of unexpected wind shear. Which, if present, will occur at the ridge crossing. Make sure that you have adequate terrain clearance. Do not cross in a climbing attitude where low speed means less margin to the stall. Also do not cross in a descending attitude, high speeds can cause structural damage in turbulence (remember Va).

Valley flying

The recommended procedure to fly through a valley is on the downwind side resulting flight in smoother up draughting air. If a 180 degree turn becomes necessary it will be made into the wind requiring less distance on the ground. Just keep in mind that down draughts could be encountered on the lee side and that the wind strength can and will vary with height in the valley. In high traffic areas is can be wise to fly on the right hand side, if possible. Do maintain a good lookout and give frequent position reports.
Attempting to fly up or down a glacier valley with a cloud layer could prove fatal, problem is that the clouds often shelves down along the glacier and the slope of the glacier may exceed the performance capabilities of your aircraft.

Entering a valley
On entering a valley double check with your compass to ensure it is the right valley, this simple check could prevent you from flying up the wrong and possibly a narrow or dead-end valley. Know whether the valley climbs and the altitude you need to clear the ridge at the end. The adage: never fly up an valley you haven't flown down, still holds true.

Turning
You will need to position your aircraft so that enough room is available to turn, if needed. In narrow valleys, commit to one side or the other preferably the right hand side or downwind. Under no circumstances fly in the middle of the valley where you could have no room to turn. The only exception would be a large wide valley.

Leaving maximum room to turn also means that less bank angle is required and therefore less wing loading and lower stall speed (which increases with bank angle).

Airspeed
When executing the turn do minimize airspeed, more speed means a larger radius. If space is confined, make check turns of 360 to see if the escape route remains open. Another possibility is to make a climbing or descending turn, these also reduce the turn radius. If speed is lost while in the turn and you already have maximum power, lower the nose to convert heigth to airspeed.

Finally, know which way the river or stream flows. I usually leads out of the valley or to lower terrain. Downstream leads to larger rivers, lakes, towns and roads.

Escape routes
One golden rule keeps popping up every time with mountain flying: always have an escape route! Do not ever place yourself or your passengers in a situation where there is not enough room to maneuver, turn back, recover from turbulence or to make a safe forced landing in case the engine should fail.

Murphy's law of mountain flying: Whenever you need to turn back it will be through sink, turbulence and a tailwind. So make sure you have the performance available to do that safely.

Approach and Landing

Do make it a habit of joining an unfamiliar aerodrome via the overhead procedure. This way it is easy to check for the runway layout, wind direction, traffic and terrain. Follow close to the standard circuit pattern. Make sure you are familiar with the elevation of the field and runway distances.

On approach the airspeed must be held quite accurately, in gusty conditions add a small amount to your approach speed. True air- and ground speed will be higher due to density altitude and be ready for a full approach, do expect a go around. If you are attempting to land on a one-way runway, have the go around decision point well in front of the runway.

Landing uphill could be mandatory if surrounding terrain and runway slope is a factor. Be prepared for a visual illusion: the up slope ground is perceived as level. The pilot will believe he is higher that he actually is and the result is a lower approach than necessary. The flare with an uphill landing needs to be exaggerated too, the aircraft needs to flare beyond level attitude for a correct touchdown.

Takeoff
Density altitude becomes a factor in the mountains. Full power must be maintained after takeoff until a safe altitude is reached. With a down slope runway, rotate the aircraft to a flight level attitude and fly the aircraft off the down sloping runway. If you would rotate to the same attitude as on a normal flat runway it could result in a stall.

Human Performance

Flight in the mountains usually results in a higher workload, the cause being navigational accuracy, constant lookout for other aircraft and the high altitude (hypoxia). This can result in a reduced mental capacity to make decisions and or handle new tasks or problems. For inexperienced pilots the physical and mental stress can be very severe, eroding the capacity for good judgement and action. And when this pilot arrives at the destination his ability to handle problems is at is lowest while the demand is at is greatest. Carefull preflight planning will help to lower stress here.

Using a GPS when flying can help, the new EFIS displays nowadays can show exactly where there is terrain between you and you destination. But do keep you head out of the cockpit as the GPS is a navigation aid to VFR flying. Let it not distract you from flying and make sure to have a sound navigation plan!

Hypoxia
The lack of oxygen at higher altitudes can cause hypoxia. During daylight below 10000 feet a normal healthy person should not be affected, at night the limit is 5000 feet as vision will be affected above this altitude which is not detectable during daylight. If the pilot is not feeling well (or a smoker) they will be more susceptible to hypoxia, even at heights of 5000 feet during the day.

The onset of hypoxia is very subtle, one factor is because the brain is not working properly this will not be readily noticed. Symptoms of hypoxia are a general feeling of well being, loss of self assessment and poor judgement, later on you will see blueish lips and fingernails (but hey, you're feeling great why bother.. ), just be careful out there.

Make sure to check the regulations when flying above 10000 feet during the day and 5000 feet at night. Some countries require the use of extra oxygen when flying for more than 30 minutes at these altitudes. I would recommend the use of a cannula every time above these altitudes.