The Chuting Gallery: A Guide to Steep Skiing in the Wasatch Mountains

by Andrew McLean

The Chuting Gallery - A Guide to Steep Skiing in the Wasatch Mountains, details 100 of the best and most challenging descents in Utah's famous backcountry. It provides route descriptions, maps photographs and ratings to help you make the most out of a quick visit, or create a hit-list for the season.

Genres: Outdoors

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1998

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Andrew McLean has been pursuing extreme ski mountaineering for over 20 years. His writings, photography and exploits have appeared in Outside, Powder, National Geographic Adventure, Couloir, Backcountry, The New Yorker and Climbing magazines, as well the Black Diamond and Mountain Hardwear catalogs. He is the author of “The Chuting Gallery” which was the first book dedicated exclusively to documenting steep skiing descents. In his quest for remote challenges, he has traveled to Tibet, Alaska, Antarctica, Baffin Island and Europe on numerous expeditions. He designs outdoor climbing & skiing equipment for a for a profession and lives with his wife and two dogs in the snow covered mountains of Park City, Utah.

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrew's keen wit and (sometimes macabre) humor accompany detailed descriptions of the gnarliest lines the Wasatch has to offer. I think it's a great read, but then again, I'm known for reading guidebooks like novels...

[Tim O'Hearn · Rating 3 out of 5]

As disclosed on the first page, a supplement to other guidebooks (which may or may not be out of print by this point in time). This is not supposed to be an introduction to any aspect of ski mountaineering or extreme/big mountain skiing. The type of sporting covered by this book is largely outside of my ability level, but I figured The Chuting Gallery would help me pick up vocabulary and build my knowledge, even if just for identifying the chutes I gawk at while driving up the Cottonwood Canyons to ski in-bounds.

I can understand how this book was important in the early 2000s, but the writing is not particularly interesting or cohesive, the maps are rudimentary, and the access "guides" don't build much confidence at all. This is--absolutely--an authentic overview which helped drive forward this niche activity twenty years ago and inspired plenty of people to try some new terrain, but there's nothing here for the semi-qualified but curious reader except 90 ways to one-up a stranger asking if you've heard of Corbet's Couloir.

[Indigo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A staple for locals who take their rage against corporate ski industry greed to the slopes. A humorous yet methodical approach to touring that should be required reading for all snowsport enthusiasts. Even if snowsports aren’t your thing, McLean cherishes every chute and ascent of the Wasatch like a caring (and brutally honest) parent. Heed the Surgeon General’s warnings: this book may induce stoke risk

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now reading again!