"Fly straight ahead and climb!" (500 km no-turns flight on the Jura ridge)

When I was 17 I spent the summer learning how to make sailplanes climb in thermals. One of my instructors was the extraordinary Tor-Stein Olberg, who spent hours in the rear seat honing my flying skills (when he started to sing operas I knew that I was doing reasonably well). He also inspired me to contemplate gliding from a scientific point of view. One of the memorable advises Tor-Stein gave me was "Fly straight ahead and climb!". This was a bit of a joke back then when flying an SZD-30 Pirat, but makes perfect sense today in an Antares 20E. This video from 20 July 2020 shows that flying 500 km without circling thermals is indeed not very complicated.

(Click on elapsed time to select video sequence)
0:03:10 Engine retraction near Montricher village (4 minutes motor time, 3 kWh consumed)
0:16:05 Genolier village
0:17:50 Saint-Cerque village (altitude OK so far...)
0:25:20 Gex town (looked as if I had started the flight too early...)
0:40:36 Combe de l'Enfer canyon (flying just below Geneva TMA, which starts at 1000 AGL)
0:43:40 Bellegarde town + airfield
1:01:50 Southern cliffs of Grand Colombier (great altitude here!)
1:18:10 Bellegarde town + airfield
1:22:35 Combe de l'Enfer (diving into the canyon to stay below Geneva TMA)
1:35:15 Col de la Faucille (great altitude + good lift)
1:41:50 Dole (peak)
1:54:00 Montricher airfield to the right
1:55:25 Chatel (the thermodynamic breeze is working well!)
2:02:55 Le Suchet (peak)
2:09:50 Mauborget (paragliding + hang gliding center)
2:12:00 Mont Aubert (the breeze is often strong here)
2:17:05 Montagne de Boudry (peak)
2:21:00 Neuchatel city
2:24:40 Chaumont (really high today, so the next 30 km will be easy!)
2:30:00 Chasseral (ridge)
2:32:00 Mont Sujet (ridge)
2:35:30 Les Roches (ridge)
2:39:00 Itenberg (ridge)
2:44:40 Hasenmatt (peak)
2:46:50 Weissenstein (hotel)
2:47:45 Balmfluechöpfli (peak)
2:54:40 Oensingen town
3:10:30 North of Aarau (turning point)
3:29:00 Balmfluechöpfli (peak)
3:48:30 Chasseral (ridge)
4:14:10 Chasseron (peak)
4:19:50 Le Suchet (peak)
4:25:00 Dent de Vaulion (peak)
4:30:30 Chatel (peak)
4:32:15 Montricher village + airfield