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.
Andrew McLean's Latest Posts
A plan of action – Part II
To layout a tour, begin with the basics–where you are starting from and where you want to go. Next, mark out any passes that lay between these two points. The first steps to laying out a day tour begin with a trailhead, an objective and any low or safe spots in between. Next, identify (and […]
Planning a Trip or Day Tour – Part I
Most day trips in North America are simple enough to forego detailed trip planning. If it doesn’t work out, well, you can always just follow your skin track back to the trailhead. Guidebooks and local knowledge are the best navigation tools out there, as someone has already made all of the mistakes for you. If there […]
Navigation – Intro
“Never take no cutofs and hurry along as fast as you can.” Virginia Reed, thirteen-year-old survivor of the cannibalistic Donner/Reed party. 1847 Getting lost in the mountains is a time honored tradition. Teton climbing guidebook author, Leigh Ortenburger, once said “I’m not publishing any more new routes where people just got lost!” As long as there’s […]
America’s Deadliest Avalanche
I’d always assumed that the worst avalanche accident in America involved a remote mining town or had something to do with the Gold Rush stampede. Miners were notorious for building towns like Alta right in the middle of avalanche run-out zones, then chopping down all of the surrounding trees/anchors for firewood. If it wasn’t that, […]
Sunday Photo – Deepest Snow I’ve Ever Skied
When skiing around with a new group of friends on an extra deep powder day, the topic always turns to “What’s the deepest snow you have ever skied?” For me, it was an outing to the Ruby Mountains in Nevada with Mark Holbrook the late 1990’s. Following a tip that there was an incredible unskied […]
What Makes You a Good Partner – Part III
Continued from yesterday… Be Flexible Plans change and stuff happens. If you are goal oriented, you know you will not succeed unless you persevere, but at the same time, group desires and competence should be taken into account. Changing plans to accommodate conditions or abilities can be frustrating, but instead of forcing the issue when […]
What Makes You a Good Partner – Part II
(Continued from yesterday…) Be Yourself Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses that he or she brings to a team. Breaking your share of the trail is nice, but no more important than knowing first aid and avalanche safety, or keeping the trailbreaker from bonking with a well-timed cookie. It is not always possible to be […]
What Makes You a Good Partner – Part I
Being a good ski mountaineering partner is like any other successful partnership – you have to want it to work and make the effort. There are no set rules and it will be different each time you go out with a new partner or group. The ideal is to complement each other’s strengths, weaknesses and […]
What Makes a Good Partner – Part II
People have a variety of motives and agendas for ski mountaineering that should be taken into account. Making risky descents to impress someone or to shock themselves out of a broken relationship stupor usually leads to poor decisions. When in doubt, start out with some easier warm-up days. Throughout the day, ski mountaineers ask each other […]
What Makes a Good Partner – Part I
Great partnerships often occur between unlikely people or under unlikely circumstances. Ultimately, a solid partnership has more to do with being compatible and less to do with physical prowess. Skiing ability alone is not an indicator of a solid partner, as ski mountaineering requires such a wide array of knowledge that even a mediocre skier […]
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