If a strong wind blows over a ridge line or hill top, obviously the flow will be complex and hard to pin down in some cases, but according to the met people there's a so-called 'demarcation line' above which the air is smooth-ish and rising (starting at the top of the hill and sloping back with height in the direction the wind's blowing), and below which it's turbulent, unpredictable and generally downdrafting.
So, all other things being equal, if you approached in the more favourable area (above the 'line') it should keep you in cleaner and upward-moving air.
Obviously the real world isn't so easy to pigeon-hole, but as a guideline it makes at least a bit of sense to me, hence the idea of a steepish, SLOW approach.
If there's cloud 50' above, then of course the plan must change.
Last edited by Arm out the window; 10th May 2006 at 09:02.