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Thread: Powder Highway Planning Help
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09-26-2022, 03:17 PM #76
The signage kinda sucks to. I had a pass to go through (7am and 4pmish) and was coming back from Calgary and there was really nothing there to tell you you have to take the detour route. You drive on pretty deserted hwy but there is still abit of traffic to Lake Lousie (20 min) then on to Field ( another 15) and then 25min to get to the point your stopped. Now you have a 60 minute back track.
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09-26-2022, 07:10 PM #77Meadowskipping old fart
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Better than the frequent 6+ hour closures when there is an accident where the RCMP investigate (fatality, life threatening injury or criminal behaviour). Or the 8+hour Revelstoke to Golden closures for avalanche control when the traffic is too busy to do 2 hour closures with traffic held in Glacier National Park.
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09-27-2022, 06:23 AM #78
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10-10-2022, 04:41 PM #79
Haven't seen anything official but rumor has it that the to Dec 1, 2022 overnight closure is the last of the 24 hour closures. The over night closures will still be there probably until the project is done 10pm till 7am. So don't have a flight come into Calgary after 5-6pm or leave before ~ 1pm
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10-17-2022, 08:29 PM #80Registered User
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It was that weekend last year where we had the 14 hour trip from Pano to Calgary….well I didn’t but out neighbours at Pano did. Greasy 4” wet snow on the highway, trucks galore on Sunday. We left Pano at 1:30 or 2PM, had 3/4 tank of gas, plenty to get home usually, and ran into a traffic jam at Vermillion crossing. 3 hours to get 20 km to the uphill at Kootenay….trucks all over the road, semis pulled off chaining up…the frigging hero was the guy in shorts, wifebeater and flip flops putting on his chains during the wet snow blizzard….
We were half way up the ridge at Kootenay and with semis sliding down the westbound lanes, I decided we were turning around and spending the night. Next day, drove back via Fernie. About 8 hours in the end.
93/95 south Castle to Radium is not built for that kind of traffic and truck loads. No cell service for 100 km. What was one emergency phone at Kootenay crossing, they now have 4 on the route. Not a whole lot better, but slightly so….
The problem was, in that situation, there was no radio or any way to get any information as to what was happening, so everyone was flying blind. My fuel indicator was getting to below 100 km left, so instead of risking going dry heading up to Storm Mtn, I wanted a full tank. The Fernie route next day just took all the risk out of it, despite the long haul.
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10-18-2022, 04:36 PM #81
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10-19-2022, 11:16 AM #82
I will tack this question on here. I have the Indy pass and good chance I hit Fernie and Castle Mountain driving up. Any information on Castles powder stagecoach cat skiing? Looks like about 375 usd for a day including breakfast and a beer so pretty cheap for the type of skiing. Will I be much more excited with the snow than inbounds? Any knowledge of how often the seats are available midweek when reserved a week or two out for February?
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10-19-2022, 09:31 PM #83Registered User
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Check out my Unofficial Guide to Castle.
https://www.skitalk.com/threads/unof...esort-ab.4764/
Note the day in the pics the snow was bottomless and if you fell you disappeared. It usually isn't that deep but will be largely untracked. The intermediate pitch is not intimidating and just a lot of fun. Most likely the first few turns will be wind affected then powder after that.
Also look at this info from Castle
https://www.skicastle.ca/catskiing/
Reservations are a good idea.Last edited by apex dave; 10-19-2022 at 10:03 PM.
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10-20-2022, 05:18 PM #84
^ that’s a real good writeup about Castle.
I’ve got close to 100 days at Castle spread over a 25-30 year period, going back to when it was called Westcastle. It’s a real special place. It’s been a number of years since I was last there though.
Funny story about the cat skiing. I was in the T-Bar Pub and some cat patrons came in. They were loudly complaining about how mellow the cat terrain was, and they said they saw a bunch of people dropping into the chutes across from them. “That was us !” our table told them. They asked how we got up on the ridge and we responded “we rode a lift.”
These richly-rich peeps thought the Huckleberry Lift was the extent of Castle’s inbound terrain…."Zee damn fat skis are ruining zee piste !" -Oscar Schevlin
"Hike up your skirt and grow a dick you fucking crybaby" -what Bunion said to Harry at the top of The Headwaters
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10-20-2022, 05:47 PM #85Registered User
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10-21-2022, 03:32 AM #86
Thanks guys, I was just looking at potential ski trip and Castle has been a mountain I have wanted to ski for a while. Cat skiing is off the list.
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10-21-2022, 11:36 AM #87Registered User
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10-21-2022, 01:45 PM #88
Most definitely not taking Castle off the Lisr
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10-21-2022, 02:05 PM #89Registered User
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I think Gary from Terrace did a part of a winter at Castle
Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know
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10-21-2022, 04:08 PM #90
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10-21-2022, 11:30 PM #91
https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...-Castle-Mtn-19
Thanks Al. I tried to link it but we'll see what happens..“I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country
www.mymountaincoop.ca
This is OUR mountain - come join us!
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10-22-2022, 12:22 AM #92
Killer TR
Wish I had seen this before. A buddy of mine who spent a few winters in Fernie was telling me about Castle. Looks and sounds like a place I need to get to.
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10-23-2022, 01:28 PM #93Registered User
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10-23-2022, 02:32 PM #94
Thanks man. Yeah, one uber cool thing about the place for me was the wicked OB coolies, some of which you only needed skins to get back to the truck), and the fact that even when it doesn't snow there (and that is often) you can find amazing skiing hidden all over the place, and if it blows (and that is often) wind sift gets deposited if you know where to look for it or you chase a local.
There's a good reason why a bunch of my friends have a place there in winter. Can't wait to get back.“I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different.”
― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country
www.mymountaincoop.ca
This is OUR mountain - come join us!
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10-23-2022, 04:04 PM #95Registered User
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In case anybody is thinking of Castle as more than a pit stop on a two week vacation I thought I would share how my wife and I made it happen. In 2005 we bought a two bedroom condo in Sparwood, 16 km from the Alberta border/Continental Divide. It is a mining town with hard working real people. It is also only 35 minutes from the Fernie parking lot and an hour 15 from Castle. For 10 years we had passes at both places. We also volunteered for the outstanding Castle Adaptive Skiing program.
After 10 years life changed and we moved to Penticton and sold the condo for what we paid for it. Those condos now sell for $130,000 to $150,000 Cdn which is cheaper than a mediocre Sprinter van and no depreciation.Last edited by apex dave; 10-23-2022 at 04:53 PM.
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