Tarbaby,
It doesn't matter what heading you have, if the wind is from the left you are crossing the isobars/contours, and (Buys Ballot) in the N hemi, heading for low isobars/contours. So, as I said before, you are going down. The problem is, why?
At low level it is because you are flying into a low MSL pressure area. At high level it is more likely that you are flying into a low air mass temp area.
The strong westerly winds at height are associated with flight from the warm sub-tropical air to the South toward the cold Polar air to the North - wind from the left, flying toward the cold air.
Dick W