Castle is excited for a third season of Castle Powder Stagecoach Cat Skiing

Castle Powder Stagecoach - Castle Mountain Cat Skiing

Castle Powder Stagecoach Cat Skiing
Courtesy CASTLE MOUNTAIN RESORT

CASTLE MOUNTAIN, AB — Two years ago, Castle Mountain made headlines throughout Western Canada when it became the first cat skiing operation in Alberta. Now in its third season, Castle's Powder Stagecoach remains the sole operator in the province, and one of only a handful of resort-based cat skiing operations in North America.

"Where in our first year we didn't start running until the end of January, last year we got things started during the Christmas holidays," said Andrew Rusynyk, assistant general manager at Castle Mountain Resort. "We started out at the end of December, and ran through the New Year weekend. We then returned to our regular Thursday, Friday, Saturday schedule."

The lift-assisted cat skiing experience starts with a ride up the Huckleberry Chair, and then the Great Divide Adventures Snow-Cat whisks people another 1,000 feet up Mount Haig. There, you're met with 1,800 feet of pure bliss.

"You get some awesome stuff up there. There's wide open bowls up top, and some really nice gladed areas down below. We've cleared out the bottom of the bowls as well, making the exits that much smoother. Some of the cat terrain is actually smoother than what's lower down the mountain.

"Castle gives you the full backcountry experience."

The new terrain offers a variety of runs, great snow, and beautiful scenery. Terrain that was formerly backcountry skiing is now within the Resort operations and adds plenty of additional acres of terrain of undeveloped powder stashes. While Castle Mountain isn't exactly renown for its massive powder dumps, the terrain up top has the unique ability of "healing itself", where, even without fresh snow, the snow shifts around so much overnight that tracks are covered the following morning.

While the first two years were undoubted successes, Rusynyk and crew feel even better about season three. "Last season was amazing. Every single person came back with huge smiles on their faces. And I mean every single person. And with two years under our belts, we're excited to be able to build upon that fan base."

Avalanche beacons, probes and shovels are required equipment and can be rented through Castle Mountain Pro Shop at the Resort. Skiers should be very strong and aggressive intermediate skiers, whereas snowboarders should be advanced.

To find out more about Castle Mountain and Castle Powder Stagecoach Cat Skiing, visit www.skicastle.ca or call toll free - 1.888.SKI TONS (1.888.754.8667).

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