On Thursday, February 8, 2018 at 1:04:37 PM UTC-8, Andy Blackburn wrote:
Jon,

The scenario I have in mind is the one I’ve faced a couple of times. You get a climb at Mt Siegel or near Heavenly and have a 30-mile glide in glassy air. As you near the steering turn you are below the minimum and the circle covers the only obvious place to climb. So what do you do? Option 1 is enter the circle, climb up and go home with a landout. Option 2 is stay out of the circle (avoid the mandatory landout if you enter), retreat to Carson and try to get a climb (or land) there. Option 3 is skirt the edge of the cylinder to avoid the mandatory landout and hope to get a climb somewhere northwest where the cylinder crosses the lake shore again. It’ll cost you several hundred feet to try but now your escape is back around the edge of the cylinder over the lake and back through the pass - or the golf course. A graduated penalty might help, but if it’s two gradual you are back to business as usual - too steep and people will do risky stuff to avoid the penalty...with escalating consequences.

9B

Then make the cylinder 5 miles. That covers any conceivable area where you might find a climb, and any incentive to pass the cylinder to the left. There are days (very rarely) with thermal lift over Mt. Snow, you could get a climb there, exit the cylinder, re-enter and finish. On those days however, you are also very unlikely to be that low to begin with. Or move the cylinder over the Elevator or lake shore, so that any temptation to pass is to the east, which is generally safe.

I wouldn't score a landout for entering the cylinder low, but I would score a landout for not taking the cylinder legally, like any turnpoint.