In the mountains, a novice will never get fat (8)
I believe the answer is:
tyrolean
'in' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are adjectives, I cannot see how one could define the other.
'mountains a novice will never get fat' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is located in the answer.
'novice' could be 'tyro' (term for a beginner) and 'tyro' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tyrolean that I've seen before include "European" , "Austrian" , "Native of picturesque mountainous region of western Austria" , "native of Innsbruck?" , "could come from Innsbruck" .)