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
Guess the UT Skier Days WINNER!
Yep, the eagerly awaited Ski Utah 2011/12 skier daze numbers came out today and we have a winner! Out of about 35-40 entries, “mtb” came not only came the closest, but he also stayed slightly under the actual number, which would make him a double winner with the Price Is Right rules. Those rules are […]
Kris Holm MUni Book
I learned how to ride a unicycle as a kid, took a multi-year hiatus and then got into Mountain Unicycling (MUni) about eight years ago after seeing a film of it in a Banff Film Festival. It was mainly a novelty at first with lots of crashing, but after a while it took on a […]
HotWire History
I recently saw that Outside Magazine had voted the HotWire carabiner as one of the most influential pieces of gear of all time, which was a delayed honor as I designed the HotWire 18 years ago when I was working at Black Diamond Equipment. I first started working at BD right after they had broken […]
Working the Skin Pocket
In XC/Nordic skiing, the term “wax pocket” denotes a certain zone on the ski where applying wax is going to give you the optimal blend of both grip and glide. A similar concept applies to climbing skins, although the “skin pocket” is fixed as you can’t adjust it fore/aft each day like you can by […]
Cook Tent Architecture
My first impression of pyramid style tarp tents was not good. After arriving at a barren, windy trailhead late at night, we set the tent up, stripped down and crawled into our sleeping bags. The next thing I knew, I felt a cool breeze on my face could see the stars. Realizing the tent had […]
Guess the 2011-12 Utah Skier Days
If tradition holds, Ski Utah will be releasing its 2011-12 Utah Annual Skier Day Visits any day now. This event is the skiing equivalent of Enron releasing their quarterly earnings statement and is always eagerly anticipated. I don’t think Arthur Anderson audits the final number, nor does S&P/Moody’s rate it, but the number is always […]
14-18 Year Old Kids Needed for Grand Adventure
The Hans Fund Youth Ski Mountaineering Course is looking for a few good 14-18 year-olds to round out registration in its 2012 Teton ski camp. The camp focuses on ski mountaineering and takes place from June 14-18 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It is taught in conjunction with Exum Mountain Guides and includes instruction from Grand […]
The Elusive Pot Parka
I was checking out Forrest McCarthy’s ultralight gear list from his recent sufferfest on the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Ski Classic, and was surprised to see that a pot parka made the cut. I’ve been using them for years and haven’t been able to find them any more, so I was especially psyched to see that […]
SkiLink Update
As much as I enjoyed being in Alaska (details and photos forthcoming) for the past three weeks, I couldn’t help but have a Wasatch flashback while we were flying over the spine of the mighty Chugach Mountains. Cruising at something like 125mph, it took us about an hour to cross the range and we saw […]
Cardiac Bowl Peace Accord
Last Tuesday, May 1, 2012, the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest re-issued a permit to the Cardiff Canyon Owners Association (CCOA) to allow motorized access to their private property. As part of this agreement, the private property owners have agreed to allow the public the same right-of-way through their land for backcountry travel. On the surface, this […]
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