Even though it was a slow start to the season at Castle Mountain, the southern Alberta snow destination is celebrating 60 years.
Sales and Marketing Manager Cole Fawcett says the biggest part of the 60th anniversary season is the debut of a new chairlift.
“The Stagecoach Express is the new lift, which is formerly the Angel Express quad chair from Sunshine Village. We have refurbished it, and it’s materially installed. We’re just going through some finer details like electrical wiring and safety system wiring before we power the lift on, which should happen here in the next couple of weeks,” notes Fawcett.
“From there, we’re going to have a few more weeks of commissioning and testing before the public will get access to it. We’re targeting a late January opening for that lift,” Fawcett adds.
Other events are still under development, Fawcett says. “We do have a few ideas we’re working on that are 60th anniversary-themed we hope to roll out mid-season.”
On average, Castle Mountain enjoys the most snow of any ski resort in Alberta, Fawcett explains. “This year, with the slightly slower start to the season, we’re not deterred. We expect we’ll end up on top like we typically are. I think this season, especially with the new lift and the new terrain expansion – which was formerly serving as part of our cat skiing operation, is amazing. It holds its snow really well.”
According to Fawcett, the ski hill will also be adding several intermediate trails to the resort. “We don’t really have enough beginner and intermediate terrain compared to the amount of advanced and expert level terrain we have, so really looking forward to that.”
Fawcett adds there will also be somewhere in the vicinity of 20 new trails added, “which represents about 25 per cent additional terrain expansion beyond what we have today.”
Once the new lift is open and running, Fawcett says, it’ll provide access to all the terrain in the area. “We’re saying early 2026, but we expect and hope that’ll be before the end of January.”
Fawcett has been with Castle Mountain for the past 10 years. “We’ve made great strides in ensuring the Castle’s a destination that’s going to exist for decades. We’ve made great investments in snowmaking and this new terrain and new lift.”
