On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 6:12:51 AM UTC-8, wrote:
Wow, 6k hour pilot flying over unlandable with a vague idea of how to get to a place to land. Then virga playing Packman with the energy source, then delayed decision making, then a really focused low save.

Kudos for telling the story.

I've flown only a few contests and also have flown that area. I've always tried to fly with at least one specific landing point in the computer telling me the arrival altitude will be above some safety altitude. Sometimes, that tether causes non-optimal flight paths from a racing perspective. Maybe the tether doesn't work because of unexpected sink or a deyhdrated pilot, but when it fails I'm at least on the way to the safety point having started with enough energy to get there in theory.

Was this 6k pilot flying without a defined tether, and is this normal for competition flying?

" Wow, 6k hour pilot flying over unlandable with a vague idea of how to get to a place to land. Then virga playing Packman with the energy source, then delayed decision making, then a really focused low save."

Just to be clear, that 6K pilot did that twice, back to back, double tap, two in a roll on one flight. If you haven't watched it on Seeyou or soaringlab.eu you should. Every once in a while the hand of fate finds it's toll in the air, but mostly our risks are manageable with a safe margin as long as the brain is engaged. Try getting stuck later in the day in an ice couloir raining rocks and your only option is to climb faster and hope for the best. For some the drive to the airport might be the riskiest part as there are risks you can't control. I am going to continue to operate under the guise that soaring is safe as long as I am safe. I have grounded myself more than once when I was not as flight worthy as I thought I should be. Make decisions early.