I've wondered why we have to get to altitude to catch thermals to climb.
Why not just locate the thermals when they are the ground or right over the
airfield - wouldn't that save a whole lot of effort? Just pull the glider
to the base of the thermal (with a bit of a running start) and go!

Yes yes - I know you're all going "d'oh, what a brilliant idea why didn't I
think of that!"

And ... oh crap, I'm two weeks early with this post.