Dan Youngquist wrote:


Along that route, usually 10,500 - 11,500. It's not necessary to go
that high -- the pass is 5235 -- but that puts you above all the terrain
near the route, and way above most of it.


Well what fun is that? Your missing out on a lot of terriffic scenery.
Sail over the pass at 6000 or 6500 assuming the wind allows.


Over that sort of terrain, I
like to go as high as practical to maximize options in case of a
problem. Actually, once you get up there, you see that there are a lot
more options for an emergency landing than one might imagine. That is,
the airplane may not go anywhere under its own power again, but you'd
have a good chance of walking out.

There's a lot more flat areas there than the chart would have you believe.