Access to this valley is via the Bealey Valley walking track from Highway 73. Possible avalanche activity is first encountered from the steep guts (Goldney Ridge) in the forested area adjacent the river. Extreme avalanche behaviour is possible from May to November each year.

• Powder (wind) blast has demolished trees for up to 700 metres in the base of the valley. This includes the final 200 metres of the marked walking track before it leaves the forest.
• Both wet & dry avalanches advance along the valley floor for great distance and depth. Note the trim-lines on the forested edges, there is potential for the valley floor to be "filled" to this level.
• Airbourne avalanches could be encountered from the bluffs on Goldney Ridge via the "fault scarp" approach to the Bealey Slide.

Access to this area is from the Waimakariri River or via Avalanche Peak. Several obvious avalanche paths cut a swathe through the east flank of Mt Stewart leading into the Crow River. Once active these paths also initiate large rockfalls. Upstream of Crow Hut the entire valley is potentially an avalanche run-out zone from the faces of Mts Rolleston, Lancelot and several guts leading to the Avalanche/Rolleston Ridge. Extreme avalanche behaviour is possible from May to November each year.

• All parties travelling via Avalanche Peak need to be avalanche aware as wet sluffs are possible into the head of McGraths Creek, and the standard descent scree/snowslope into the Crow has potential to release because of poor anchoring and face deloads off adjacent bluffs.
• The gut leading to the East Crow Glacier at the head of the valley hosts very large wet & dry avalanches each year, in some years run-out has been 200-300 metres along the valley floor.
• All slopes under Mt Lancelot are swept by moderate size avalanches each year, many of these initiate at ridgeline and become airbourne for the final 200 metres.
• The Crow Glacier icefall can drop ice at any time of year.

Access to this area is from the Waimakariri River. Harper Creek is a very narrow stream canyon, with 300-600 metre rock walls rising on its northern flank to Camp spur on Mt Harper. All avalanche activity in this area tends to be of an airbourne wet snow nature, therefore their avoidance is highly dependant on your knowledge of snow conditions at higher level. Avalanches impacting the valley floor tend to move downstream, and the lower avalanche paths can travel up to 500 metres. Extreme avalanche behaviour is possible from May to November each year.

• A major avalanche path exists off the south eastern flank of Mt Harper, it has the potential to travel through the Harper basins and over the waterfall (70m) at the head of Harper Creek. Several other avalanche paths also combine at this point.
• There is evidence of avalanche (wet sluff rooster tails) behaviour in the scree gut which gives climbing access to the ridgeline separating Harper & Greenlaw Creeks. This gut leads off near the base of the waterfall on the true-right.

Click Here to open a PDF file (100Kb) of general avalanche data for this valley system (1989-Present).

Access to this valley is via the Otira Valley walking track from Highway 73. Possible avalanche activity is first encountered from the steep screes just prior to the buttresses on Goldney Ridge. Extreme avalanche behaviour is possible from May to November each year.

• Airbourne avalanche activity is prevalent from the Philistine Buttress anywhere above the foot bridge. These initiate slope failures on the bluffs and lower slopes with avalanche paths being capable of crossing the river and sweeping 50-100 metres upslope.
• Avalanches from the Otira Face of Mt Rolleston are capable of travelling down valley up to 1000 metres. Note that they tend to oscillate randomly (snake like) as they proceed down valley, rising up to 50 metres on each flank. Also note that a complete failure on the Otira Face will lead to a substantial powder blast with up to 300 metres vertical content as the impacting snow is driven (launched) over the moraine walls at the head of the valley.
• The Philistine Ramp avalanche path is capable of travelling completely across the valley floor.
• The Otira Slide is a prime avalanche path. Slope failures are generally initiated by avalanche activity from the Middle Peak flank of the Otira Face, however wet sluffs from its Goldney Ridge section also occur from time to time.
• The gully encountered before the Otira Slide (from Goldney Ridge) is an extremely dangerous avalanche path, as fast rolling wet & dry releases advance to the centre of the valley floor during periods of extreme danger.

Access to this area is via the Temple Basin walking track & ski field from Highway 73. Possible avalanche activity is first encountered from the steep guts rising out of Twin Creek towards the northern flanks of Mt Cassidy. Extreme avalanche behaviour is possible from May to November each year.

• Downhill Basin (above Page Shelter) is prone to self initiated and face deload initiated wet sluffs (Class 3-4) from Mt Temple. Temple Basin ski field does avalanche control work around this area.
• The basin under Phipps Peak south face and below Temple Buttress is ALL within avalanche paths from the surrounding faces.
• The central gully leading through the Temple Buttress onto Mt Temple is an avalanche path. Snow anchoring is normally very poor in this gully.
• Bills Basin is outside Temple Basin ski fields control area. Wet sluffs are prone to run from the Blimit ridgelines across the basin and over the bluffs above the ski field lodges.

Access to this area is from above Carrington Hut in the upper Waimakariri River catchment. Possible avalanche activity is first encountered between the Taipoiti Stream and the Kilmarnock Falls area, though be aware the Taipoiti Stream canyon route to Harman Pass is prone to airbourne releases from Mt Isobel. Extreme avalanche behaviour is possible from May to November each year. A avalanche path also exists opposite Carrington Hut though it thus-far has failed to penetrate to the White River.

• From treeline up-valley, ALL the slopes under the Isobel-Davie escarpment are prone to airbourne avalanche activity. Also note that there has been incidents where the entire snowslope under the bluffs has been "creeping" towards the White River.
• The chasm (old swing bridge location) on the White River is in an avalanche path from the buttress faces on Mt Wakeman. Avalanches from this face tend to split with the other arm heading towards the slopes south of Barker Hut, after jumping 60 metres over the moraine spur.
• The entire area of the Marmaduke Dixon Glacier is prone to point release and sluff activity from its enclosing faces.
• The west faces of Mt Harper release substantial amounts of snow into the head of the White River, with paths in some years reaching the Cahill Glacier stream confluence.