[MCR] Kananaskis Ranger Creek, Near miss

Subject: [MCR] Kananaskis Ranger Creek, Near miss
Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 23:17:44 +0000

Just a heads up we have had our first avalanche involvement of the season in Kananaskis Country with an ice climber involved in a sz 1.5 below Chalice and the Blade in Ranger Creek in the Smith Dorrien valley.  Spindrift from above the route triggered a small slab at the base that ran down and hit the climber as he was approaching the climb.  The climber was in a gully feature approaching the route, and was fortunately able to remain standing and have the debris flow around his legs.   The slab was up to 40cm thick,  25m wide and we believe that it failed on the November rain crust 10-15cm off the ground.  For a photo go to www.facebook.com/kcpublicsafety

 

For ice climbs in avalanche terrain we strongly encourage people to be carrying avalanche safety gear and evaluate conditions as they approach the route.  Approaches are fairly easy at this time with minimal snow cover at the lower elevations but in alpine terrain snow is starting to accumulate and we are seeing avalanches occurring in specific terrain features such as gullies and ridgelines. 

 

Looks like the deep freeze is about to end….

 

 

Kananaskis Country Public Safety Program

twitter.com/KCPublicSafety

www.facebook.com/KCPublicSafety

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