"Poor weather conditions, close to the mountains ridges, no
outlanding
fileds and still having water ballasts full of water? " was not in
the article anywhere

Strange? Not when you consider the pilots actual comments...
"winds were pretty strong" "skies were overcast" "He said he was
ridge soaring when his glider stalled and spun into the side of a
mountain" were some of the pilots and authors comments, so I'm not
sure what people are getting at here. Sounds like he is genuinely
grateful and amazed to be alive after an admitted stall/spin.