MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR SUPER CLUESDAY! Win a tent NOW!

| February 17, 2009


Our epic journey begins on top of the peak identified in clue #4

Gasp…gasp, shiver….shiver… let’s get going.  It is freezing cold, high and hard to breathe up here.  We’ve been climbing all night and are now going to turn around and follow our boot tracks back down, repeating the line of the first ski descent of the peak.  Aside from being too numb to feel anything and bouncing over sustrugi so hard it chips our teeth out, the top part goes quickly and then leads to the business end of the descent – a beautiful, steep, open and exposed headwall.  There’s no time like now, so you start down its flanks which are covered with dragon-skin rippled powder over ice.  You’ve forgotten your camera, which is too bad as the face is so beautiful you could name a classic ski after it, or a small red-headed child. 

 

Each turn brings you closer to terra firma, until at last you glide out on a vast open field of dazzling white.  Thank god that’s over, but where do we go from here?  Looking left and right, you decide to follow the sun as it slowly sets and start walking.

 

And walking.  And walking.  At the stately pace of early Antarctic explorers, you cover 15km per day for five days and six hours in an almost straight line.  You wish you had brought your headphones and start to wonder if you are even still in the protected mountain zone you started in.  Taking a breather you notice a natural arch and follow the flow of gravity around it. 

 

The traveling surface is firmer now, but in a cruel twist of fate, it is also more broken up.  On the bright side, you are slowly trending downward and moving faster, but on dark side, you still have two full days of travel at twenty-five miles per day to get there, wherever there might be.

 

Suddenly, the slope runs out and you can ski no more.  You are confronted with a body of water so vividly colored that you pray that it was given the first name of the explorer who first discovered it. Wondering which way to go now, you hear the sound of large mammals and begin contouring around the water in that direction.  Seeing nothing, you continue around a sharp point, when suddenly something about the view reminds you… today is April 15th.  Taxes are due and you haven’t paid yours.  Fearing your great adventure is now going to end up in a lonely prison cell, you turn and look back in the direction you have come so far from.  Sigh.

 

With you mind on cell mates named Piston Bully and solitary confinement, your gaze drifts over towards the first man-made structures you have seen for weeks, including a BRAND NEW MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR TENT with your name on it!  Perhaps there is a bright future…

 

Within a 20 meter diameter, where exactly are you?

 

SEND IN YOUR COMMENT/ANSWER NOW!

Entry Format:
Continent – (your answer)
Zone/Region – (your answer)
Mountain Range – (your answer)
Specific Peak – (your answer)
Specific Location – (your answer)

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Thanks to Mountain Hardwear for sponsoring this contest!  Help support Straightchuter.com and check out some of their excellent tents at Backcountry.com, or by clicking on the photo below.

Tags:

Category: MHW Tent

About the Author ()

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.

Comments (110)

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  1. Brandon says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – British Columbia, Canada (Mt. Robson Provincial Park)
    Mountain Range – Canadian Rockies (Rainbow Range)
    Specific Peak – Mt. Robson
    Specific Location – North Face
    *Skier Bonus – Troy Jungen & Ptor Spricenieks

  2. OMR says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – Alaska, USA, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve (the peak straddles the US-Canadian border)
    Mountain Range – Saint Elias Mountains
    Specific Peak – Mt. Saint Elias
    Specific Location – Chitina River

  3. Ralph S. says:

    Continent: North America
    Country: USA
    Mountain Range, City or Region: Wrangell St. Elias NP
    Peak: Saint Elias
    Exact Location: Behind the sign at Ultima Thule

  4. ed says:

    CONTINENT: North America
    ZONE/REGION: USA/Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve (ALASKA)
    MOUNTAIN RANGE: Saint Elias Mountains
    SPECIFIC PEAK: Mount Saint Elias
    SPECIFIC LOCATION: Icy Bay

  5. Jonathan says:

    1. Continent: North America
    2. Country: USA
    3. Zone: Wrangell St. Elias National Park
    4. Specific Peak: Mt. St. Elias
    5. Exact Location: glacier bay

  6. Andrew says:

    In the proverbial park, but not quite…

  7. Owen Reeder says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – Alaska, USA, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve (the peak straddles the US-Canadian border)
    Mountain Range – Saint Elias Mountains
    Specific Peak – Mt. Saint Elias
    Specific Location – Icey Bay

  8. OMR says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – Alaska, USA, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve (the peak straddles the US-Canadian border)
    Mountain Range – Saint Elias Mountains
    Specific Peak – Mt. Saint Elias
    Specific Location – Mira Face

  9. Montana says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – United States of America
    Mountain Range – Saint Elias Mountain Range
    Specific Peak – Mount Saint Elias
    Specific Location – Point Manby

  10. Andrew says:

    Within 20 meters of man-made structures

  11. jerimy says:

    #1: North America
    #2: United States
    #3: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
    #4: Mt. St. Elias
    #5: Guyot Glacier Moraine, Icy Bay

  12. Ron E says:

    Continent: North America
    Zone/Region: United States
    Specific mountain range or zone: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
    Specific Peak: Mount St. Elias
    Specific Location: Ultima Thule Outfitters in Chitina

  13. Ralph S. says:

    Continent: North America
    Country: USA
    Mountain Range, City or Region: Wrangell St. Elias NP
    Peak: Saint Elias
    Exact Location: McCarthy

  14. Jonathan says:

    1. Continent: North America
    2. Country: USA
    3. Zone: Wrangell St. Elias National Park
    4. Specific Peak: Mt. St. Elias
    5. Exact Location: icy bay

  15. carl krag says:

    Continent – North America (Mt. Robson)
    Zone/Region – United States (Steve McKinney is a hero from my youth)
    Zone – Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
    Specific Peak – St. Elias
    Specific Location – ultima thule lodge

  16. George says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – United States of America
    Mountain Range – Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
    Specific Peak – Mt. St. Elias
    Specific Location – Head of the Taan Fjord

  17. ed says:

    CONTINENT: North America
    ZONE/REGION: USA/Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve (ALASKA)
    MOUNTAIN RANGE: Saint Elias Mountains
    SPECIFIC PEAK: Mount Saint Elias
    SPECIFIC LOCATION: Glacial stream

  18. mark says:

    Continent – North America
    Country/Region – United States
    Range/Zone – Wrangell-St. Elias Nat’l Park & Preserve
    Peak – Mt. Saint Elias
    Location – taan fjord

  19. Ralph S. says:

    Continent: North America
    Country: USA
    Mountain Range, City or Region: Wrangell St. Elias NP
    Peak: Saint Elias
    Exact Location: Copper Mine at Kennecott

  20. Andrew says:

    The tent is still out there…

  21. Tab says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – Alaska, USA, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve (the peak straddles the US-Canadian border)
    Mountain Range – Wrangell-Saint Elias Mountains
    Specific Peak – Mt. Saint Elias
    Specific Location – Cook Inlet

  22. OMR says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – Alaska, USA, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve (the peak straddles the US-Canadian border)
    Mountain Range – Saint Elias Mountains
    Specific Peak – Mt. Saint Elias
    Specific Location – Ultima Thule Outfitters, Plane Hanger #A

  23. Ralph S. says:

    Continent: North America
    Country: USA
    Mountain Range, City or Region: Wrangell St. Elias NP
    Peak: Saint Elias
    Exact Location: The old jail at McCarthy

  24. ed says:

    CONTINENT: North America
    ZONE/REGION: USA/Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve (ALASKA)
    MOUNTAIN RANGE: Saint Elias Mountains
    SPECIFIC PEAK: Mount Saint Elias
    SPECIFIC LOCATION: at the foot of Malaspina Icefield

  25. Jeff says:

    Continent: North America
    Country: United States
    Mtn Range/Zone: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
    Peak/Town: Mt. St. Elias
    Specific Place: Point Riou

  26. ed says:

    CONTINENT: North America
    ZONE/REGION: USA/Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve (ALASKA)
    MOUNTAIN RANGE: Saint Elias Mountains
    SPECIFIC PEAK: Mount Saint Elias
    SPECIFIC LOCATION: at the foot of Columbia Glacier/Bagley Icefield

  27. Ralph S. says:

    Continent: North America
    Country: USA
    Mountain Range, City or Region: Wrangell St. Elias NP
    Peak: Saint Elias
    Exact Location: The old jail at Kennecott

  28. Andrew says:

    MaCarthy and Ultima Thule are an uphill battle from the tent site

  29. Ryan says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – Alaska, USA
    Mountain Range – Saint Elias Mountains
    Specific Peak – Mount Saint Elias
    Specific Location – Yukatat Airport

  30. Montana says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – United States of America
    Mountain Range – Saint Elias Mountain Range
    Specific Peak – Mount Saint Elias
    Specific Location – Point Manby Lighthouse

  31. Andrew says:

    You are getting close ed…

  32. Rob says:

    1. Continent: North America
    2. Country: USA
    3. Zone: Wrangell St. Elias National Park
    4. Specific Peak: Mt. St. Elias
    5. Exact Location: Gilbert Point

  33. carl krag says:

    Continent – North America (Mt. Robson)
    Zone/Region – United States (Steve McKinney is a hero from my youth)
    Zone – Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
    Specific Peak – St. Elias
    Specific Location – Paul Claus hanger

  34. mark says:

    Continent – North America
    Country/Region – United States
    Range/Zone – Wrangell-St. Elias Nat’l Park & Preserve
    Peak – Mt. Saint Elias
    Location – st elias guides

  35. Ron E says:

    Continent: North America
    Zone/Region: United States
    Specific mountain range or zone: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
    Specific Peak: Mount St. Elias
    Specific Location: Ultima Thule Lodge

  36. Montana says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – United States of America
    Mountain Range – Saint Elias Mountain Range
    Specific Peak – Mount Saint Elias
    Specific Location – North Base

  37. Retiarius says:

    1. Continent: North America
    2. Country: USA
    3. Zone: Wrangell St. Elias National Park
    4. Specific Peak: Mt. St. Elias
    5. Exact Location: Hanna Lake

  38. mark says:

    Continent – North America
    Country/Region – United States
    Range/Zone – Wrangell-St. Elias Nat’l Park & Preserve
    Peak – Mt. Saint Elias
    Location – MOTHERLODE POWERHOUSE

  39. Katie says:

    Continent: North America
    Country: USA
    Range/Zone: Wrangell – St, Elias National Park & Reserve
    Peak: Mount St. Elias
    Location: Valdez

  40. ed says:

    CONTINENT: North America
    ZONE/REGION: USA/Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve (ALASKA)
    MOUNTAIN RANGE: Saint Elias Mountains
    SPECIFIC PEAK: Mount Saint Elias
    SPECIFIC LOCATION: Bagely Icefield

  41. Andrew says:

    … a body of water so brilliant that you hope it was named after the person who discovered it…

  42. Montana says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – United States of America
    Mountain Range – Saint Elias Mountain Range
    Specific Peak – Mount Saint Elias
    Specific Location – Kageet Point Airstrip

  43. nfrancois says:

    1. Continent: North America
    2. Country/Region: USA/AK
    3. Mtn range/Zone: Wrangell-st elias natn park and preserve
    4. Peak: Mount Saint Elias
    5. Vitus lake Cabins

  44. Ralph S. says:

    Continent: North America
    Country: USA
    Mountain Range, City or Region: Wrangell St. Elias NP
    Peak: Saint Elias
    Exact Location: The jail at Cordova

  45. kim says:

    Continent: North America
    Country: USA
    Mountain Range, City or Region: Wrangell St. Elias NP
    Peak: Saint Elias
    Exact Location: Ben Ditto’s tent

  46. Montana says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – United States of America
    Mountain Range – Saint Elias Mountain Range
    Specific Peak – Mount Saint Elias
    Specific Location – Point Riou

  47. Andrew says:

    Tent is still out there, although a few people are clsoing in on it…

  48. Katie says:

    Continent: North America
    Country: USA
    Range/Zone: Wrangell – St, Elias National Park & Reserve
    Peak: Mount St. Elias
    Location: Prince William Sound

  49. Jeff says:

    Continent: North America
    Country: United States
    Mtn Range/Zone: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
    Peak/Town: Mt. St. Elias
    Specific Place:
    Yukatat Bay

  50. Montana says:

    Continent – North America
    Zone/Region – United States of America
    Mountain Range – Saint Elias Mountain Range
    Specific Peak – Mount Saint Elias
    Specific Location – Riou Bay Airstrip