Yeah, Rivets, you might have the most plausible scenario.
In a galaxy far away, we flew in similar terrain and had similar WX during half the year if we were west of the Annames Mountains. We had downward sloping terrain to the west, so flying north we were fairly sure that turning and climbing to the west would get us outta trouble. OTOH, we had terrain-following radar that looked out miles ahead. We could set a terrain clearance and get vertical guidance to use or not use. I don't foresee this in our commercial jets, and the terrain warning systems in use today don't seem to offer as much "protection/warning" until late in the game. out...