NZ Mountain Safety Council 27 August 2026<\/p>\n
Following the significant weather event in the South Island, NZ Mountain Safety Council (MSC) is warning of high avalanche danger across the Southern Alps, and is urging people to avoid avalanche terrain for the time being.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe volume of precipitation, with more forecast to come, has created a high avalanche danger along the South Island\u2019s main divide,\u201d says MSC Chief Executive Mike Daisley. \u201cThere is the potential for large and destructive avalanches, with naturally triggered avalanches likely and human-triggered avalanches very likely.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NZ Avalanche Advisory, provided by MSC, is currently forecasting a high avalanche danger for Arthur\u2019s Pass, Aoraki\/Mt Cook, Ohau, Queenstown, W\u0101naka, and Aspiring regions. Poor weather, low visibility, and strong winds are also expected to continue for at least the next 24 hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cTravel in the backcountry under current conditions is not only challenging but treacherous. We\u2019re recommending that trampers, hunters and skiers wait at least 24 to 48 hours after the storm before entering the backcountry, and then only if they have the necessary training, skills and equipment,\u201d says Mike.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember, once you leave the ski area boundary, you\u2019re in a backcoucntry environment, and avalanche danger increases substantially. While inside the ski area, the patrol team actively manages avalanche danger, as soon as you step outside the boundary, this becomes the responsibility of you and your group.\u201d<\/p>\n
Always check the avalanche forecast and public observations when planning your trip, and carry avalanche rescue equipment and know how to use it. This includes an avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe avalanche forecast is an important planning tool, but it\u2019s only one part of the decision-making process,\u201d says Mike. \u201cWhen in the mountains, you need to make informed decisions based on the current conditions on the day and how these change throughout your trip.\u201d<\/p>\n
image Joel Dickinson Mt Aoraki<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NZ Mountain Safety Council 27 August 2026 Following the significant weather event in the South Island, NZ Mountain…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[16],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-121112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-alps","tag-alps"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/117165683305726994","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}