4'' Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

It's not the oldest of the United States' national parks, nor the biggest, nor the most popular. It doesn't have the highest peaks, nor the deepest canyons, nor the most difficult climbs. But to discount Glacier National Park for those reasons is to miss a hikers' and drivers' paradise and one of the crown jewels of the National Park System. Nowhere have I personally found mountain scenery so incredible and yet so accessible.

The Going-to-the-Sun Road, seen in the opening to The Shining and the end of Blade Runner, is the only East-West road through the park, and was finished in 1933. The road crests at Logan Pass, on the Continental Divide, at an elevation of 6466'. From there, climbers can begin one of many outstanding hikes, most notably the Highline Trail, which is carved into the side of the Garden Wall, the ridge of which rises one mile or more from Logan and McDonald Creeks below.

This model is centered on Logan Pass and the Going-to-the-Sun Road and features almost 100 square miles of classic glacially-carved alpine terrain. Neighboring mountains are too numerous to list, but all the classic ones are here: Clements, Oberlin, and Cannon on the East side of the pass; Bearhat Mountain above Hidden Lake (another hike starting at Logan Pass); Reynolds, Fusilade, Citadel, and Little Chief to the South; Going-to-the-Sun, Piegan, Siyeh, and Allen to the East; and Pollock, Bishop's Cap, and Mt. Gould (with its awesome 4000' West wall) to the North. The historic Granite Park Chalet, a hike-in Swiss-style alpine hotel with stunning views of the McDonald Valley, is in the very Northwest corner of the map.

Model scale is 1:156100
Model covers an area approximately 9.7 by 9.7 miles
Altitudes covered: 3493' to 10019'
There is never any vertical exaggeration in TinyMtn models.

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TinyMtn models are most affordable in the "White Strong and Flexible" and "Sandstone" materials. This model is in "White Strong and Flexible." 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) 2014 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 https://www.usgs.gov/