Oh Canada

[whipski]

I see I get 3 free days at each of these mtns with my Monarch pass. Looking for opinions, recommendations or suggestions if these would make for a great road trip:
Castle Mountain
Marmot Basin
SilverStar
White Water

Thanks in advance,
W

[mntlion]

Castle and marmot are both 3/4 hours from calgary airport. And banff is MUCH closer with more to ski and do?

castle is a boom or bust hill. Can set recordss for snow amounts, or close in Feb due to nothing. So DONT book and see. ITs a medium sized local hill, no town, no accom, no other things to do.

marmot is 4-5 hours from YYC, but is a nice town, quiet, nice hill, See CND rockies thread

If you are driving, then also check out banff for a few days (sunshine, LL, norquay) and kicking horse on the way to jasper/marmot

[garyfromterrace]

OP,
You driving or flying? mtnlion is correct in suggesting book nothing ahead. Places you've noted can differ immensely in snowpack at any given time.

If conditions are all equal I'd definitely hit Castle, but full disclosure - I've not skied Marmot. Castle kicks both Silver Star's and Whitewater's ass with regard to on hill skiing if you're into steep fall line skiing, pretty decent glades too. Castle is not the place to come if you want glitzy apres ski and shopping and you can expect wind (this can actually help the skiing and is called wind sift), bring face covering.
Whitewater has some great easy access touring options (which Castle and SS do not). Castle is also your closest hill to Monarch (2 hrs closer than nelson, 4 hrs closer than SS).

If you do end up coming to Castle I can guide you around as I'll be there from Jan 2 to March 22.

[tintin5]

How much time do you have?
None of these hills are particularly close to each other, but there's lots to ski in between. As mntlion said. the Banff/Jasper combo is a great option. Also consider a Fernie + Castle combined trip. Fly into Kalispell and drive up.

[Mike Rogers]

Castle is usually good for 2 of the 3 top days in any given season. If you time it right, it's tough to beat the long, fall line runs.

As mntlion suggested, get the timing wrong, and it can be rough.

I lived in Southern Alberta for a few years, and had a Castle pass during that time. Living in Calgary now, I could still day trip, but a pass doesn't appeal to me. I'll pick my days.

Warm, dry winters can be a problem at Castle. They closed in February back in 14/15. It's looking like an El Nino year this time around....

Another big concern is wind. Castle is super windy. The top (Red) chair has wind delays 1/4-1/3 of the time, and doesn't open about 10% of the days. The windsift makes for good skiing, but Castle is pretty dull without the Red.

Before hitting castle check Mountain Forecast. You're pusing your luck with winds above 60km/hr. If winds are above 80km/hr, go somewhere else.

https://www.mountain-forecast.com/pe...forecasts/2612

Combining Castle with Fernie is a good call.

I've always had a good time at Whitewater. It's worth a day or two for in-bounds with lots of sidecountry to keep you entertained later.
It's good to combine Whitewater with Red.

[garyfromterrace]

I was only responding to the OP's direct question which was Castle vs WW vs SS vs Marmot.

There's a myriad of hills you can hit on the way to Canuckistan (he's coming from CO) or, when you're in the neighborhood. Definitely hitting Fernie if you're at Castle should be a consideration. But, we don't know if he's driving or flying sooo...???

Yeah Red, Louise, Sunshine, etc etc etc should be considered, I love these places. Again though, he's got to see where the snow is at the time of his trip. And, if he's flying into Calgary that changes everything.

PS, I happen to love the fact that Castle is not for everyone. If the red chair is down I'll find something, somewhere (have skins will travel).

[Schemeboat]

Thats a whole lot of variety. Silverstar is a small resort (hotels, condos etc). with good inbounds terrain and limited backcountry Whitewater is a small local hill with incredible backcountry and has pretty reliable conditions. Marmot is it's whole own scene and has pretty much unlimited backcountry and a decent sized resort with good slackcountry and can have good conditions. I can't say I would leave BC to ski there but I used to visit when I lived in AB. Castle has been well explained, and when it's on it's very on, long runs and good quality snow. Fernie is being hyped and for good reason, but if Castle is high and dry, chances are that Fernie will be down on it's luck as well.
I would err on Silverstar-Whitewater and smash a bunch of the other resorts in between (RMR, Kicking Horse). Reality is, when you're in SW BC, you can get to any almost resort in half a day, including Castle. Jasper is not as quick to get to.

[cmcrawfo]

.... Silverstar is a small resort (hotels, condos etc). with good inbounds traversing and NO backcountry .....

fixed that for ya.

[el hefe]

fixed that for ya.

How am I going to sell Real Estate up there with comments like this from locals?

[cmcrawfo]

How am I going to sell Real Estate up there with comments like this from locals?

Most come from aways are terrified of the backcountry. this Should be a key selling point when marketing to a family.

[apex dave]

FYI re Castle
I put this together a few years ago
https://www.pugski.com/threads/unoff...esort-ab.4764/

[Meanfruit]

How am I going to sell Real Estate up there with comments like this from locals?

You'll be ok

[whipski]

Most likely driving with MT stops on the way. Thanks for input.