As for altitude in Canada I was just referring to the airspace in most places people actually live and fly IN CANADA being Class B and requiring transponder and/or ATC clearance above 12,500 ft. as opposed to the number of places in the US which are open to 18,000 ft. Where I fly the times when conditions make it practical to go above 12,500 are few and far between anyways.. The wave we get seldom has any real power in it above 10,000 so even when we get to 12,500 the last few thousand takes a while:-) The good thing is we can usually release from tow at 1100 ft ASL so Silver and Gold altitude gains are attainable.