Andrew McLean

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

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Andrew McLean's Latest Posts

Soggy Martial

Soggy Martial

| November 4, 2013 | 1 Comment

Being a pampered Wasatch skier, it has been a long time since I’ve had he pleasure of skiing in the rain, but my Northwest roots were well watered today on the Martial Glacier. Aside from the gusts of wind that could knock you down, the skiing itself wasn’t too bad. As an added bonus, what […]

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First Day of 2013/14

First Day of 2013/14

| November 3, 2013 | 0 Comments

I got out for a tour today with 20+ good friends from all over the world, which was a great way to start the new season. From the town of Usuhaia, it is about a ten minute taxi ride up to the Martial Glacier, which has a small (1 chairlift) ski area and lots of […]

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Ushuaia & Antarctica

Ushuaia & Antarctica

| November 2, 2013 | 0 Comments

The 25 hours of flying and eating food out of plastic isn’t that much fun, but once you get here, there’s nothing like it in the world. Ushuaia Argentina reminds me of a fun magnifying glass – people start converging from all over the world, then, one flight at a time, start concentrating at the […]

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Wasatch Backcountry Alliance

| October 1, 2013 | 11 Comments

  I’ve often thought how wonderful it would be to show up at a Forest Service meeting with a big sack of cash.  “Here you go, I brought this for you.  Keep it.”  While this may sound crass and borderline illegal, it is essentially what all of the ski areas and guiding concession do by […]

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Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain

Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain

| September 17, 2013

A perfect blend of practical advice, photos, interesting stories and concise information.

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Snow Sense

Snow Sense

| September 17, 2013

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Utah Avalanche Center Mega Party – This Thursday

Utah Avalanche Center Mega Party – This Thursday

| September 8, 2013 | 0 Comments

One of the toughest parts of an Avalanche Forecasters job isn’t assessing the snowpack, it’s figuring out a way to raise money to keep a forecast operation running. Among people who use and appreciate forecast centers, it seems hard to believe that they aren’t funded through some sort of public safety agency, and yet Utah […]

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Look Who Just Showed Up In Park City

Look Who Just Showed Up In Park City

| September 3, 2013 | 2 Comments

  Ahhhh.  Hate heat.  Summer bummer.  The end is in sight! ________________________________ Help support StraightChuter.com and keep as cool as a dog in a Ruffwear Swamp Cooler Dog Vest from Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…  

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Happy Hooking

Happy Hooking

| August 27, 2013 | 1 Comment

Drying gear out before putting it away is one of the best and easiest methods of preventative maintenance. This is often easier said than done as the last thing you want to do after getting back late at night from a wet weekend is spend another hour finding places to hang your tent, sleeping bags, […]

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DuMore Packraft Trip

| August 22, 2013 | 3 Comments

The true beauty of  packrafts is that their lightweight portability allows you to boat wildly remote rivers which would be logistically daunting or expensive with a hard-shell boat.   Weighing in at about 15 pounds for the entire boat, paddle, pdf, drysuit, etc., means that you can hump them over mountain passes and carry them […]

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