Officials at Castle Mountain Resort remain hopeful for the rest of the ski season, despite a lack of snow early on. (Photo: Castle Mountain Resort)

By David Opinko

Optimism at Castle Mountain despite lack of snow

Jan 5, 2024 | 1:45 PM

Despite a distinct lack of snow in southern Alberta so far this winter, one Alberta ski hill still hopes to put on a great rest of the season.

Castle Mountain Resort Sales and Marketing Manager Cole Fawcett said they are indeed open for business and that there is still a lot of fun to be had on the slopes.

Fawcett says that they have received just under 200 cm of snow to this point, whereas most seasons would see around 300-400 cm.

This has lead to ski officials turning to snow-making machines more than they typically would.

“We have been taking every opportunity to [make snow]. Sometimes, that means just firing up the snow making machines and our system overnight for six or eight or 12 hours. That’s a lot more work than it normally is,” said Fawcett.

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He adds, “About a third of our skiable terrain is open and available for the public – 35 out of 95 marked trails. It’s not feasible or possible or financially possible, really for any resort, to make snow across their entire mountain landscape.”

The lack of natural snow, according to Fawcett, has lead to a drop in ridership of about 50 per cent this year.

Thankfully, though, he said they continued to see strong levels of support from season pass holders and avid skiers and snowboarders.

The weather has lead to the cancellation of Castle Mountain’s first planned Alpenland Demo Day, which had been scheduled for Saturday, January 6, 2024. It is an event where people can “test drive” new skiing and snowboarding equipment for free for the day.

The resort plans to hold a second Demo Day on March 2.

Fawcett remains hopeful for the rest of the ski season as the weather is forecast to turn over the coming days and weeks.

The Weather Network forecasts snow every day from January 6-12, as well as more in the second half of the month. The temperatures are forecast to dip to more seasonal norms as well.