My old mountain flying instructor in the States would have had an apoplexy if any of his students had got so close to a ridge on even a minor hill, due to the potential for windshear.
Well, you can skim ridges as long as you're 100% positive you're approaching from the upwind side, but it's still a mug's game.
The stupidest thing I have ever done in flying was last year agreeing to go in the jump seat of a Cessna turbine 206 dropping parachutists in the Swiss Alps. I know the area well and the pilot ducked into a very high, steep cirque just after take-off and I thought, 'Uh huh, he's going in here for a sightseeing tour and is going to do a speedy 180 and we'll be out', but no he headed up and West for the saddle (prevailing wind is from the West). Sure, this was a turbine 206, but we were at gross and
climbing towards the pass. I just prayed and, of course, we got over, but only just. We crossed the saddle with about 200 feet to spare. He'd done it several times already that day and he knew that day it was OK, but one day it won't be.
We dropped at 10,000 feet agl and beat the first free faller to the ground, but that was a breeze after the flight up.
QDM