The Inversion Barrier

There was a demon that lived in the air. They said whoever challenged him would sink out. Their gliders would dive, their side wires would twang, and they would be decked. The demon lived at 3K on the meter, 3000 feet above sea level where the air could no longer move out of the thermals way. He lived beyond a barrier which they said no man could ever pass. They called it the inversion layer.


With high pressure well established my best bet at challenging the inversion layer was to glide straight for Eagle Peak after launching the Tower atop Diablo. Arriving low at Eagle requires good situational awareness working high pressure bullets close to the steep rocky faces.
Eagle Peak was letting off its typical strong, small cores which meant keeping the glider on a wing tip to prevent getting spit out.
The thermals would mushroom like a nuclear explosion at about 3000' as I knocked up against the inversion's lid.
After 45 minutes and pure desire, I finally found a core to drive through. Above the inversion the air was smooth and buoyant as I boated about. Being above the inversion, I decided to cross over Juniper Ridge towards Alamo. After a smooth crossing of Mitchell Canyon I pulled the bar in for lee side sink above Pine Canyon, now on the west side of the Mountain.
Crossing over the mountain can only be done in light winds and although technically local, it sure feels like XC, requiring similar decisions and similar rewards. It's like arriving at a completely new flying site with new terrain, vegetation, often a different air mass and even much bigger houses.
After enjoying some west side flying I put in at Macedo Ranch through a big wind gradient. Below is the clip of, The Breaking of the Inversion Barrier which allowed this rewarding hop to Alamo.