Super Cluesday – Answer & Winner
Matthieu Chesaux of Boulder, Colorado is the winner!
While contemplating a pair of K2 Mt. Baker Superlights, Matt said:
As for finding the final clue, I thought about your earlier post mentioning “popular watering holes…places to stay”. It seemed pretty quickly that a hut was too obvious, and on a travel webpage for the area (that I can no longer find!), there was a photo of the statue in Mt. Cook Village. It occurred to me that one of the previous clues (#2) had obliquely referred to Sir Edmund Hillary – and the statue seemed like a very specific location (within one meter). Other than that, it was good luck!
- Andrew copping a cheap feel on Sir Ed’s thigh…
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Category: Chuting Spree Contest
Congrats to shZo.
Andrew – where in your clue is the HOURS of off glacier hiking that would be required to get to Mt Cook Village once off of the glacier?
“By now, it is pitch black and you are dodging crevasses by Braille for hours while staying on the glacier. This is misery…. when will it end?
Exhausted, you eventually see the outlines of some structures in the moonlight.”
Great contest.
Couple minor quibbles:
Rules state you can ski to the location. How often can you actually ski to the statue? It’s pretty low . . . Certainly not likely if conditions were good for a first descent of the Hooker.
A climber “geared for an early alpine start” would not be in shirtsleeves . . . unless you mean “early-era”, I suppose.
Anyway, great fun.
Oh, I get it: you can use “skiing techniques like . . . WALKING”
OK, whatever.
The key clue was “alpenglow” which would have started you down the west face as the Caroline/East face would be in the shadows. Once there, you take a left which leads you into the Hooker valley, which eventually leads straight to Mt. Cook Village, where there are “structures” (<-- plural, as you might have stumbled across that little wind-shelter cabin alongside the trail). Once you get into Mt. Cook Village, the Sir Ed statue is a very well known (and internet searchable) location. As far as the walking part, well, if you just skied the Hooker Face, maybe it was a big snow year and you could glide all the way to the village? There will be other Chuting Spree contests and I'll chose my clues/verbage more carefully.
And technically . . .
I think by moonlight that most people would indeed interpret Sir Ed’s facial expression to be a SMILE,
. . . or at least a grin.
In fun,
Ed
Hey did you really post the final clue at 10:00 MST? Cuz I think we are still on Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) for a coupla more weeks. ;-) Not that I would have won, just want to make sure you don’t miss out on your connection.
I actually blew that once leaving Mexico, and found myself thinking “wow, we’re boarding already???” then in my seat, “cool, we’re leaving an hour early!!!” I guess there aren’t too many clocks in the Cabo airport.
Anyway good contest. Thanks for raising my hopes for a new pair of skis, then dashing them mercilessly. Good times.
So what skis did the winner decide on?
Hi Bart – you’re right, it was MDT, not MST. Sorry about that – I hope it didn’t screw you or anyone else up too much.
Adam, I think Matt the Winner is inclined toward Mt. Baker Superlights, which are some of my personal favorites as well.
Hey Andrew…
i hope i am mistaken, but as i was surfing the net just now, i ran across an article in the rocky mountain news about a skier who was killed while skiing the Taylor glacier in RMNP. As i read the article i recognized the name of the skier involved from somewhere. I as checked out todays clue i scrolled over to the previous winner of the BD skis. It was the same guy, Matthieu Chesaux, i think(i hope im wrong)? i grew up in Boulder and do not know Matt but my thoughts go out to him and his family and friends. really tragic, it makes me sick.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/02/victim-idd-skiing-accident-rocky-mountain-national/?partner=RSS
Hi Ian,
Thanks for the note, and I’m sorry to say, from what I’ve heard, it is true.