Ridge soaring barely exists in the Great Basin and most of western US. The terrain and wind does not favor ridge soaring. Occasionally at the end of the day after the thermal die we can extend the flight a little using ridge soaring. And even then it does not require hugging the terrain. These sort of crashes unfortunately happen when pilots get low below the terrain scratching for thermals or at the beginning of the day when looking for thermals near ridges. Usually it is not needed to get too close to terrain as the lift a little further is often better and easier to work. How close is too close depends on many factors.

Ramy