Castle Mountain upstages its terrain with Stagecoach Express

“This new lift is an exciting development for Castle and for us,” says Sheena Adamson, a local here for 15-plus years. 

“We wanna see this place thrive, we raised our kids on this hill. The last time we skied the [new terrain] area was six years ago, when we went cat-skiing for our 10th wedding anniversary.”

Within four days of the new chair opening, Fawcett and I demolished three of his top runs in this new area—runs that should be on your radar.

Three top runs off Stagecoach Express

1. Whitebark Bowl: a  beauty bowl with an aggressive fall line and some great technical skiing  
    
2. Giddy Up: as an intermediate blue run, you’ll rip through the Giddy Up Gorge with a killer view of the West Castle ridge, landing you back at the top of the Huckleberry Chair (the chair you use to get to The Stagecoach Express)

3. Maverick: for those in the know, run the ridge and off Giddy Up, drop into this black run where you’ll likely find some nice powder stashes. 

Fawcett adds in this pro tip: “Most won't come all the way down the ridge to score Maverick so it keeps it fresh tracks longer.” 

Castle’s multi-million dollar investment with this new chair builds off their second mountain of runs, Mount Haig. The lift itself came from Sunshine Village, and was refurbished by Castle. 

Sustainable resort development

Stagecoach is accessed off the Huckleberry Chair, where you’ll find an interpretive sign recognizing the fact that Castle is Alberta’s first Whitebark Pine Friendly Ski Area. 

A special grade of pine tree, Castle makes a point of protecting these unique pine trees as they face a significant threat of extinction.

“Understanding we're next to Castle Provincial Park, we are for the expansion of Castle,” says Adamson. “The way I see it, the more access you have to appreciate the natural surroundings of this area, the more you want to protect it. 

We’re practical environmentalists—there’s a developed footprint here and having managed access matters.”

When you ski or ride Castle you can’t not be in awe of the geography and your surroundings.  As you head down any of the terrain off the Stagecoach Express expect to be awestruck shredding your way down looking out onto West Castle Valley.

“This lift is a game changer for our Resort," says 20-year-lifty legend Marie Cameron, known as “Marie the Hug Lady.”  

Per the Facebook live here, her presence only adds to the Castle Mountain hospitality with a pre-run hug each lap you take up the Blue Chair out of the resort's village.

ski and ride the new Stagecoach Express

head to Castle Mountain for terrain, hospitality

The signature Castle hospitality doesn’t stop on the chair. Expect to eat well at the T-bar Pub (pizza all the way) and sleep solid with quality accommodations throughout the base area including their Castle Mountain Ski Lodge.

Things are brewing in all kinds of ways considering this is Castle’s 60th season. Be sure to order up a Deep Tracks lager with your ‘za—a special edition brew celebrating six decades of skiing here via this local collaboration between Oldman River Brewing and the resort.