Andrew McLean

Andrew McLean lives in Park City, Utah and is a gear designer, writer, photographer, ski mountaineer, climber, Mountain Unicycle rider and father of two very loud little girls.

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Andrew McLean's Latest Posts

Wasatch BC Tweet

Wasatch BC Tweet

| December 9, 2010 | 4 Comments

Yehaw!  The WWW (Wonderful World of Wasatch) was surprisingly good today and if conditions remain stable, should be a blast this weekend.  About 4″ of graupel fell in the last day or so and in sheltered areas it was still Sponge-Bob bouncy powder, but in wind exposed areas it was buffed as smooth and creamy […]

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Big Leg Greg Closes in on 2 Mill

Big Leg Greg Closes in on 2 Mill

| December 8, 2010 | 5 Comments

As I was dragging ass up the last bit of my biggest day so far this year, a paltry 7,200′ of climbing, my thought turned to Greg Hill.  When I first met Greg I was impressed at how easily he won the first Whistler Ski Mountaineering race.  As I got to know him, I was […]

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Dawn Patrol Road Closures

Dawn Patrol Road Closures

| December 7, 2010 | 6 Comments

If you Dawn Patrol in the Wasatch, you need to sign up for LCC & BCC road closure text messaging information at: http://updsl.org/services/canyonalerts This is the best way to notified about when, where and how long LCC and BCC will be closed in the morning, even if you have already left the trail-head. Over the […]

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Scariest Skis in the West

Scariest Skis in the West

| December 6, 2010 | 13 Comments

Deadbolt may be the “Scariest Band in the World” but they are nothing compared to this set of skis… 181cm K2 Darksides with Dynafit Titanium TLT bindings. Rockered to the gills, 156 / 128 / 144mm, no brakes, leashes or fore/aft adjustment in the heelpiece.  These skis must be approached from behind, spoken to in […]

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Wasatch BC Tweet

Wasatch BC Tweet

| December 5, 2010 | 1 Comment

Getting hard to find the goods in the ‘satch. The upper elevations are filled in, but full of blown out crusty snow. The more sheltered mid elevations have good snow, but not much coverage. The fun zone is currently very slim.

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Keep’er Steeper Skinning

Keep’er Steeper Skinning

| December 3, 2010 | 15 Comments

The other day I was out skiing with a woman I didn’t know very well and she mentioned something about “macho assholes who set steep skin tracks.”   Good thing it wasn’t a first date as she was most likely talking about me.  I love steep skin tracks in the same way that I love steep, […]

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Dynafit Rolling Start

Dynafit Rolling Start

| December 2, 2010 | 14 Comments

WildSnow.com may be the center of the Dynafit world, but can they do this trick?

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First Run Strategy

First Run Strategy

| November 30, 2010 | 0 Comments

Within any single backcountry ski run there usually exists multiple options for skiing more or less avalanche prone terrain.  On the first run of the day, I’ve often formed an opinion on the snowpack by doing mini tests and making observations on the way up (as well as reading the UAC report in the morning), […]

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November Pow Update

November Pow Update

| November 29, 2010 | 6 Comments

I’ve updated my Wasatch early season opinion from “Pretty good” to “Best in memory.” I may not have the best memory, but I’ve been out three out of the last four days and haven’t hit a rock except when I was trying to. It is still bony below 7,500′ (approx base of Snowbird), but up […]

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Wasatch Photos – Nov 13

Wasatch Photos – Nov 13

| November 15, 2010 | 2 Comments

A few photos from last Saturday in the Central Wasatch.  Once you got high enough and on the right aspect, the skiing was fantastic.

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