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

Fly Chuting?

Fly Chuting?

| November 18, 2009 | 1 Comment

Andrew is back from Antarctica and on firm land.  He had a great trip and will report back when he gets back.  Now he is off fly fishing.  He is going to try spotting again so check back for updates.    Polly

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Antarctica

Antarctica

| November 11, 2009 | 0 Comments

Andrew is having a blast down there but alas the spot doesn’t work at the bottom of the earth.  You can see where his boat is by looking at http://vtrack.gmn-usa.com/cgi-bin/fleet_setup.pl?fleet=iaato&password=ushuaia – they are on the yellow dot “cpa” aka the Clipper Adventurer.  Sounds like the trip is going great (much better than last year!) with […]

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Live Antarctica SPOT Tracking

Live Antarctica SPOT Tracking

| November 3, 2009 | 9 Comments

I’ll be updating my location from Argentina, the Drake Passage and the Antarctica Peninsula over the next three weeks with a SPOT personal locater beacon.  The image below should show my latest position, but you may need to refresh your browser to force an update.

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Ski Bag Packing

Ski Bag Packing

| October 31, 2009 | 9 Comments

Whether you like it or not, skis count as a piece of luggage when flying, so I always try to maximize my ski bags utility by both stuffing it full of 49.995 pounds worth of gear, and also using my gear to pad my skis.

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The Future of Ski Areas

The Future of Ski Areas

| October 29, 2009 | 47 Comments

I attended a lunchtime presentation in Park City yesterday as the keynote speech by Michael Berry was “The Future of Skiing” and it promised to answer the question about why skiing growth was flat and what was going to happen when the Baby Boomers exited.  I was eagerly awaiting the magic words “Resort skiing has […]

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Favorite Glacier Rope

Favorite Glacier Rope

| October 28, 2009 | 8 Comments

I’m slowly assembling my Antarctica kit and pulled out my favorite glacier rope tonight.  The sad thing is, I don’t even know the brand, but it doesn’t really matter – what is important is my fast and easy, do-it-yourself modification.  Starting with a 60m dry 9.1mm’ish rope, find the center, apply a sharp blade to […]

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Back from Alaska

Back from Alaska

| October 27, 2009 | 5 Comments

I made it back from a quick trip to Alaska where, once again, I had a great time. I love that state.  Thanks to Joe Stock and all of the Friends of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center, the slideshow on skiing the AK Family was a success and raised a sizeable whack of […]

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Alaska Family Slideshow in Anchorage Tonight (Thursday)

Alaska Family Slideshow in Anchorage Tonight (Thursday)

| October 22, 2009 | 7 Comments

If you live in Alaska, I will be up there today giving a slideshow at the Beartooth Theater Pub on skiing Denali, Mt. Hunter and Sultana. Please stop by and say “hi” if you can make it!

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New Addition to Glacier Kit

New Addition to Glacier Kit

| October 21, 2009 | 17 Comments

Much to the dismay of my partners, I am a minimalist when it comes to the amount of gear I bring for performing a crevasse rescue.  I bring a snow pickett for an anchor, waist and foot prussick loops, a 20′ cordelette, about six Oz carabiners, a screwgate locking carabiner and 2-3 full-length Dynex runners.  […]

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Choosing Climbing Skins

Choosing Climbing Skins

| October 20, 2009 | 16 Comments

There are many variations on the skin theme available nowadays – nylon, mohair, mixed, hybrids, domestic, European, tip catchers, tail rippers, no tails and everything in between.  I’m partial and opinionated about what I like for the Wasatch, but am the first to admit that the best skin for the job is probably whatever the […]

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