Castle Mountain Resort & Powder Stagecoach Cat Skiing

Having skied Castle Mountain some 25+ years ago I can honestly say that things have not changed all that much since then and this is for the better in my opinion. Sure they have a few new lifts, more terrain and condos are now scattered around the base area, but that good ole’ Castle vibe endures. I’m not a fan of cookie cutter mega resorts with high-speed lifts and $12 fries. My home mountain is Whitewater Ski Resort and for good reason, as it also lays claim to this same undiscovered down-to-earth vibe,… or at least it used to be able to. Castle Mountain Resort may just be the last remaining, truly off-the-radar ski resorts in Canada that still has the goods (vertical, terrain and powder) which puts in shoulder-to-shoulder in the big leagues with those other more well-known resorts.

Castle Mountain’s lift system may not be everyone’s cup of tea as the three main chair lifts are all fixed grip with two of these being relics from the golden days of skiing. The two-seater Tamarack Chair is reminiscent of Whitewater Ski Resort’s now retired Summit Chair and still kicking Silver King Chair. But what the Tamarack lacks in speed it makes up for in character and the same can be said for the Sundance Triple Chair. This chair barely outpaces the T-Rex T-bar that runs alongside it and has to be one of North America’s longest and steepest T-bars, or at least those of which I have encountered. This funky lift system combined with no cell coverage or wifi access on the mountain (wifi is available in the lodge) means you actually talk to your fellow skiers/riders and ensures that on a powder day the snow doesn’t get tracked out immediately. This is really the secret to Castle’s laid back vibe enduring. The Huckleberry triple chair, on the other hand, is a fairly new addition to Castle’s uphill arsenal and while it doesn’t quite have the same charm as the other chairs it does provide access to some well appreciated intermediate terrain.

With 3,592 acres of skiing and riding to discover and an average snowfall of over 9 metres, Castle Mountain easily rivals both Sunshine and Lake Louise (actually Castle beats Sunshine for total acreage and ties Sunshine for reported average snowfall). When it comes to vertical, Castle is the fourth largest in all of Alberta and has more runs than all but three other resorts. If you like bowls, Castle has eight of them, those off of the Tamarack Chair are enough to keep you busy for days, add to this the East Glades and the West Chutes and this resort is just crazy huge. If you are an advanced skier then the Chutes is where you want to go, with over 25 diamond and double diamond runs this is a steep skiers nirvana. From the Skyline Traverse you’ll find two thousand plus vertical feet of steep skiing and riding right down to valley bottom which will make your thighs burn and your smile widen. If we’d had more than one and a half days to sample the inbounds terrain at Castle I would have simply lapped this zone run after run. On a powder day, this is where I’d head first, after sessioning the Tamarack Chair’s Bowls of course.

We skied Castle two days after a modest snowfall and there was still powder stashes to be found all over the mountain, something those mega resorts with high-speed lifts and endless crowds cannot claim. While the -20 something temps kept the crowds away, for the most part, I was told that lift lines were rare and typically only a few skiers deep on weekends and holidays. 

Just off the Huckleberry Triple Chair to the west is where you’ll find the Powder Stagecoach Cat Skiing terrain. You can sample some untracked cat skiing for as little as $399/person which includes a hot buffet breakfast prior and a cold beer afterwards. The combination of the Huckleberry Triple Chair and Cat bump up to Haig Ridge means that you don’t spend very long in the Cat (which is always a good thing) and that one Cat can ferry around two groups of 12 skiers/riders. With 900 acres of terrain, Powder Stagecoach offers plenty of pow turns to go around and an ideal set up for those who have never tried this form of skiing/riding before. Powder Stagecoach only operates Thursday, Friday and Saturday so be sure to book in advance to ensure they have availability and if it storms all week then Thursday’s the primo day! 

(Three photos above by Castle Mountain Resort / Jack O’Grady)

After Cat Skiing concludes on Saturday the terrain is open to self-propelled backcountry skiers on Sunday and Monday. Those with a ski pass can ride the Huckleberry Chair (saving some vertical) and skin to the top of Haig Ridge from there. If you want the full-meal-deal then there is a designated uphill route from the base lodge to the top of the Huckleberry Chair that can be skinned up during operational hours of the resort.

While the Powder Stagecoach terrain is technically backcountry terrain it is managed by the resort to ensure guests safety but when you are ski touring this are you are on your own and responsible for your own safety which means that you require the proper avalanche training and rescue gear. Sadly our visit was only two days long so we did not have the opportunity to go backcountry skiing in this zone but after Cat Skiing in there I can tell you that Haig Bowl and the gully and rib features are super fun. Ski touring allows you to experience the same terrain as Powder Stagecoach but at a greatly reduced price, if you’ve got the fitness for it. 

The Powder Stagecoach terrain is not the only ski touring option around Castle Mountain Resort, however, you can also drop off Haig Ridge through Lightning Bolt and Thunder gates which will take you down the North face of Haig Ridge to valley bottom where you can ski back into Castle Resort and then lap back up the Huckleberry Chair for more. Off the East side of the resort, there is also plenty of ski touring terrain in a northern drainage that can be easily accessed from Highway 774 just a few kilometres up the road from the resort.

There is a variety of on-hill accommodation at Castle, from high-end luxury lodges to more modest condos. Castle Accommodations booked us into the Castle Mountain Ski Lodge which is a hybrid hotel/hostel. We stayed two nights in a hotel room with a queen and bunk beds which provided everything we needed including a private bathroom for a very reasonable rate of $120/night. A modest free continental breakfast was supplied each morning and there was a hostel style kitchen in the basement where we cooked other meals. A TV room and games room are adjacent to the kitchen and provide some entertainment if you aren’t tired after a day on the mountain. If you are on a tighter budget or travelling solo then consider Castle Mountain Ski Lodge’s dorm rooms in the hostel portion of the building as they are even more affordable. The biggest plus of the Castle Mountain Ski Lodge has to be its location which is just a short walk from any of Castle’s lifts. Like the resort, Castle Mountain Ski Lodge is down to earth and provides good value for the money.

The combination of huge terrain, cat skiing, ski touring, on-hill accommodation and minimal crowds makes Castle Mountain Resort one worth checking out. Its down-to-earth vibe is rare in these days of mega-resort and it’s refreshing to know that the true soul of skiing lives on.