Our planet is blessed with many areas of intense natural beauty, but I suspect you're browsing TinyMtn here on Shapeways because the intense, rugged, and alpine beauty is the kind that pleases you most. Whether you are a expert climber, dedicated backcountry hiker, car camper, or armchair mountain aficionado, you have to agree that Glacier National Park in Montana offers some of the most spectacular terrain in the United States. It was so hard to choose just one peak for the first TinyMtn release, but when I saw photos of Mt. Wilbur, I fell in love.

Even though it's not on the Going-To-The-Sun Road (the most popular attraction in Glacier), Mt. Wilbur is the focal point from the Many Glacier Hotel and Swiftcurrent Lake, both easily accessible from the Many Glacier entrance. Called "Heavy Shield" by the Native Americans, Wilbur is a three-sided mountain extending just East from the Continental Divide, and rises over 4000' from its base.

Our model of Mt. Wilbur covers the summit and massif and a number of surrounding features. Windmaker Lake and Redrock Lake mark the Southern extent. To the North, in the deep cirque sorrounded by Mt. Wilbur, Iceberg Peak, and a ridge along the Continental Divide is Iceberg Lake, named because you can find icebergs there, even at the height of summer. Accomplished climbers can trace out their route, whether the Central Couloir, Direct, North Couloir, Chimney, or Thin Man's Pleasure Routes (all class 4 and 5 gulley climbs).

Model scale is 1:47800
Model covers an area approximately 3 by 3 miles
Altitudes covered: 5082' to 9318'
There is never any vertical exaggeration in TinyMtn models.

Click here for more sizes.
Click here for other 4" models.

TinyMtn models look best in the default "White Strong and Flexible" material, which is also the least expensive material. When you receive the model, there may still be Nylon dust on it from the printing process. Use either an airbrush, canned dust blower, or a soft old toothbrush to remove this dust. Do not get the "White Strong and Flexible" material wet, and don't prime it or use any oil-based paints on it. You can safely seal it with Polycrylic or a similar water-based clear spray sealant. Read more about this popular material here.

The "Frosted Detail" material will show more detail, but is semi-transparent and has an uneven surface texture when unpainted (due to the orientation of the model when Shapeways prints it). It may show up feeling a little greasy and with small crystals in crevasses. Clean those off by soaking the model in warm (but not hot) soapy water and brushing with an old toothbrush. To get the surface to an even matte finish, spray with a few light coats of sandable primer (white automotive primer works), and then do a baking soda grit-blast.

These models have been optimized for the above materials, and are not offered in other materials for strength or cost reasons. If you need one in another material, please contact us and we'll try to accommodate your request.

(C) 2013 TinyMtn (TM)
Model created using GDAL, NetPBM, Gmsh, Carve, MeshLab, and other custom software
Source of digital elevation data: U.S. Geological Survey
The USGS home page is http://www.usgs.gov/