I agree with P-O-P, having done a little mountain flying myself. I bet he got caught flying too close to the leeward side of the range and experienced pretty strong turbulence and down drafts. I try to do my flying in the mountains early in the morning or very late afternoon when the winds are light. Or during the day when they are light. No daytime flying when the winds aloft are 20 kts or greater. I have been caught on a couple of occaisions in moderate winds - it is rougher than a cob. Suffice it to say, I would not want to be close to the ground on the leeward side of a mountain range.
