Since moving to Inyokern I've learned that it's an ideal location for high-altitude gliding, in part because of the "Sierra Wave". A friend of ours just passed away, and you can read about his amazing life
here. Here's an excerpt from Owl's obit - "Al achieved his dream of learning to fly shortly after he arrived at China Lake in 1952. Over the years, he owned many airplanes, alone and in partnership. He became a highly skilled pilot and one of the area's best instructors. Eventually he earned many pilot ratings, including airplane, instrument, glider, ATP (Airline Transport Pilot), seaplane, and helicopter. In the mid-'50s he was attracted to soaring and checked out in sailplanes at the famed soaring site of El Mirage in the California desert. He became very interested in the Sierra Wave phenomenon which had been discovered in the 1950's and explored the wave on many flights with his Cessna 170. He achieved the Soaring Society altitude gain goals of 1,000 meters (3281 feet) and 3,000 meters (9842 feet) by shutting down the engine in the airplane and soaring it like a glider.
On his best flight, he soared the 170 from 6,000 feet to 33,000 feet, but the recording barograph system failed so that achievement was never recognized. On that flight the battery died from the cold at altitude, and he landed dead stick at the old Davis Airport after dark in high winds, with no radio or lights, an amazing accomplishment. (emphasis mine)"
I don't know what he used for an oxygen system.
