Area Closures

Mountain safety

Avalanche Closure Zones are in effect annually from November to May within Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay national parks.

To ensure public safety during Avalanche Control Operations, designated avalanche paths and adjacent areas within the national parks will be closed, as and when required.

These are legal closures and violators may be charged under the Canada National Parks Act. For full details, consult the Important Bulletin: Temporary area closures for avalanche control .

Avalanche Control Operations and Area Closures are indicated in the field through permanent warning signage and temporary closure signage, and are communicated through updates to Avalanche Canada's regional avalanche forecasts, at avalanche.ca . When the region's avalanche forecast headline indicates avalanche control, the listed areas are legally closed.

Find the region's avalanche forecast headline by visiting avalanche.ca . Select a region on the map to open the regional forecast and view the forecast headline. The forecast headline is the large text above the Danger Ratings section.

Avalanche Closure Zones

Use the following maps to see the boundaries of the Avalanche Closure Zones within Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay national parks.

Hwy 93 North (Icefields Parkway), Banff National Park

93 North - Overview

Mount Hector

Noseeum Peak

Dolomite Peak

Silverhorn Mountain / Observation Peak

Mount Noyes

Waterfowl Gullies

Bison Peak

Yoho National Park

Yoho - Overview

Mount Field

Notes: Yoho Valley Road to the Stanley Mitchell Area is not in the closure zone.

Mount Stephen

Mount Dennis

Notes: This closure zone includes all of the ice climbs on Mt. Dennis.

Mount Burgess

Mount Bosworth (seasonal closure)

Mount Bosworth is closed annually from November to May. Remote avalanche control systems may be detonated at any time. For full details, consult the Important Bulletin: Area Closure, Mount Bosworth .

Boundaries: South side from 1 km west of the summit to 1.5 km east of the summit and from the ridge crest down to the Trans-Canada Highway; north side from the summit to 1.3 km east of the summit and from the ridge crest down to 2,200 m elevation.