Road this past weekend at Castle (march 8th). I was very impressed with the Mountain. Good bowls, great backside and no lift lines. I was told it is a windy Mt but that was not the case the day I was there. Blue bird day, powder stashes in the trees. Overall just a great day. I was at Sunshine for the first time about 2 weeks ago and I think I may like Castle better for snowboarding. My only complaints would be no high speed lifts.

On your first visit to castle the feeling you get can send shivers up your spine.It looks pretty steep from the bottom of the hill to as far as you can see.This mountain is perfect if you are comfortable with steep fall line skiing.Try drifter or goat run.almost always has the goods.The lift tickets are a good value as well.As far as meeting babes the T-bar pub has a reputation for getting kinda weird on weekends.I would bring your own if you can.Castle has added Haig Ridge which is a perfect compliment for those not as keen on black diamonds,good cruisers,terrain park....Not to mention a back-country gate that has proven to be worth exploring.I say try the castle next time and see where the action is..Oh by the way what other ski hill in Alberta sells beer for $3.50-$4.00.If your not into snow boarding or skiing,the hill rents snow shoes,they are lots of fun to take out down the road by the river ask somebody most people are in the know.

At Castle, the wind is your friend....most of the time. On most days it blows consistently right up over the back of the mountain, blanketing much of the front face with fantastic wind-sifted powder. Other times, it just howls and the ride up the upper chair can be pretty interesting as the wind rips down the mountain. The upper lift has closed a few times in the PM when the wind has picked up when I've been there.

Castle is a fairly big mountain (1600 acres) with good vertical (2833 feet) and some of the best chutes anywhere. This year they have a new chair up Haig Ridge which offers more green and blue terrain but haven't skiied it yet. The lower mountain runs are mainly cruisers, with a few good steep tree runs. Centre is a pretty sweet first-run burner. If the pper chair is closed, traverse far skiers right past The BUrn to Trapper and Being There for good snow and steeps.

The upper mountain has bowls, trees and steep chutes, all acessed from two cat tracks that basically go left and right from the top of the chair. On most days with the consistent wind, the upper mountain is filled in with wind-loaded snow, and on storm days Castle is the kind of plae where your tracks disappear after each lap. Figure out the wind patterns and you'll find the best stashes...I've had good luck with the bowl area of Sherriff/Outlaw, Tamarack Bowl and the treed areas over by North Bowl and Northern Exposure. Over towards Th e Chutes area, Drifter and High Plains can be awesome, as are all the Chutes...just watch for bony windswept sections on ridgelines. Lots of cool, sparse treed terrain from forest fires.

A very laid-back mountain, with slow fixed grip lifts and minimal crowds (except weekends after a storm cycle when all of Calgary seems to be there sometimes). The base area T-Bar is a great spot for end of day beers and the new hostel at the base offers some great ski and stay deals. There are also some good larger houses to rent at the base if you have a group, some nice B&B's nearby (Aspen Grove is good...v. friendly) or else Pincher Creek for motel/hotel options.

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