My comments.
I would have either climbed above the cloud for the ridge crossing or descended to give better forward visibility. There appeared to be a much better option out to you right, a lower part of the ridge and better visibility, which I suspect you didn't notice as you were looking directly ahead. Had you been lower it would have been much easier to spot.
Flying through those wispy bits of cloud isn't a good idea. Get below the cloud to get a better look ahead and around you. You will have a much better idea of whether or not to proceed. Sure you may need to climb a little to cross the ridge later on, but probably not if the conditions are suitable for you to cross.
Going high is going to give a better ride on the leeward side. Though to be honest the turbulence you encountered didn't look too bad. You can expect far worse in some situations. As a rule of thumb if the winds are more than 10 knots down low (say at a nearby airport), don't fly in the mountains, or if you do, be prepared for turbulence and know where to expect it and how to deal with its impact.
As for climbing above the cloud and knowing it its clear on the other side. If you start off low you should be able to see through to the other side of the ridge at some point. If there is plenty of sunshine on the ground on the other side then there should places to descend.
Always approach a ridge at well less than 90 degrees. There's no one perfect angle to approach the ridge at but lets use 45 degrees for this example. If you need to turn a way, depending on the surrounding terrain, a turn of a little more than 45 degrees will take you away from the terrain. With a shallow angle you have more time to assess conditions on the other side of the ridge.
Particularly if your are on the windward side you can fly along the ridge to pick the best point to cross. If you are on the lee side if you encounter a downdraft it's much less risky than approaching the ridge head on.
I'd also like to comment on your landing. Firstly congratulations on deciding to go around the first time.
I need to ask why you didn't fly the circuit for the same runway but elected instead to reposition for the opposite runway? Why did you chose Rwy08 for the first approach and not the second? As you said yourself the approach for 26 has issues. Be repositioning like you did you are setting yourself up for a non standard situation at an unfamiliar airfield. For many low hour pilots just landing at an unfamiliar airfield is enough for them to be out of their comfort zone and make silly small mistakes. Don't increase the risk by doing something non standard.
There are benefits in flying the circuit and landing on the same runway, unless it's obvious you chose incorrectly the first time, then it's not a bad idea to fly three legs of the circuit of the new runway. The benefits are you get yourself properly orientated and ensure you are not doing something non standard and forgetting something or make a mistake.
I know the ATC person said wind calm, that's almost at ground level, what were the prevailing upper winds? These will give you an indication of the possibility of a tailwind on final approach. Bearing in mind local terrain can modify the wind flows. If the wind is calm or fickle choose the runway that faces into the upper prevailing winds, especially if it is short.
Lastly you mentioned you were stabilised on the approach at 65 to 70 knots, yet you seemed to float a long way down the runway, far far further than I as an instructor would have been comfortable with. If I have been sitting beside you I would have instructed you to go around.
What speed did you cross the threshold at? Hopefully not 65 knots. If the figures I have for the Katana DV20 are correct (38 KIAS stall speed full flap) then with full flap extended at all up weight you should be crossing the threshold at 50 KIAS.
Hopefully my comments will be of help to you in the future.
Last edited by 27/09; 31st Aug 2016 at 01:49.