Crossword Genius

Mountain, cold in two areas, and beast there (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

alpaca

'beast there?' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'mountain cold in two areas' is the wordplay.
'two areas' means two substitutions for 'area'.
'mountain' becomes 'alp' (the Alps are a mountain range).
'cold' becomes 'c' (eg on taps).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'area' becomes 'a' (maths abbreviation).
'a'+'a'='aa'
'c' placed within 'aa' is 'aca'.
'alp'+'aca'='ALPACA'

'and' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for alpaca that I've seen before include "Fabric from wool of S American llama" , "Type of wool" , "Wool of S American lama" , "woolly character?" , "Long-haired mammal related to the llama" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sun and The Independent.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app