Castle Mountain Resort Area Structure Plan moves forward

Chris Davis - On November 7 council for the MD of Pincher Creek approved a recommendation from Development Officer Roland Milligan to re-start work on a Castle Mountain Resort Area Structure Plan. The planning process had been put on hold until a water plan could be developed. In an October 19 email Castle Mountain Resort requested that the area structure planning process move forward.

Holding up a mirror

Residents of MD of Pincher Creek Division 1 thank you for all the support (Quentin Stevick photo)

Toni Lucas - The only good thing about a disaster is that you see ordinary people perform extraordinarily.  A disaster is a time when we are too busy to look in the mirror and see our own actions.   Whether that action was fighting a roaring fast-moving fire, opening homes to evacuees and some who are now homeless, baking cookies for the people who are busy or unsettled, or donating time and effort and skills or money to help, the people in this community and others have stepped up to the plate.

Division 1 work bee last Saturday (Anne Stevick photos)

Last weekend more than 280 people gathered in the Twin Butte area to help those who lost homes, outbuildings, and/or miles and miles of fencing.  Area resident Anne Stevick was kind enough to supply us with pictures from that amazing event, an example of neighbours helping neighbours, and even strangers helping strangers.

Castle Parks to get nearly $20 million from Budget 2017, including paving and Beaver Mines water project

Government of Alberta - Highway paving and new water pipelines are part of nearly $20 million in infrastructure investment for the Castle Provincial Park and neighbouring communities.  Six million dollars from Budget 2017 will go towards paving an 11-kilometre gravel section of Highway 774 (the roadway to Castle Mountain Resort) within the newly established park. Another $9 million is earmarked to help the Municipal District of Pincher Creek construct a water line that ties Castle Mountain Resort to the Hamlet of Beaver Mines. The water line will also serve the Castle Provincial Park.  It builds on $4.7-million in grants from the province and the federal government to construct a water line between Beaver Mines and the Village of Cowley. All three pieces of infrastructure support local tourism in and around the Castle parks.

Castle Mountain reports 700 cm of cumulative snowfall so far this season

Castle Mountain Resort photo

According to a press release, Castle Mountain Resort is the first Alberta ski area to hit 700 cm of snowfall for the 2016-2017 ski season, after 15 cm of snow fell on the evening of February 28 and through the subsequent overnight hours, “With more than 2 meters of base, at mid-mountain, we’re looking forward to a great spring at Castle Mountain” said Jason Crawford, Sales and Marketing Manager at Castle Mountain Resort. “We’ve been picking up 10 cm’s or so each and every day, for the past week or so, which is translating into great conditions.” Castle is expected to pick up an additional 25 to 40 cm from now through next Monday.

Pincher Creek RCMP assist in coordinating successful rescue of hiker

RCMP Alberta - Throughout last night and continuing through today, the Pincher Creek RCMP coordinated the rescue of a 35-year-old female hiker who tumbled approximately 45 meters from a scree slope. She was extracted early this afternoon, and transported via ground ambulance to a local hospital and then flown via air ambulance to a Calgary hospital.

Shorts from May 24 meeting of council for the MD of Pincher Creek

• Fire Hall to include walkway, water resevoir
• Southfork Hill drainage improvements
• Commercial dust removal rate lowered by $100
• MD to grade roads within Castle Mountain area

Results for Southern Series Stop 4 at Castle Mountain

Alberta Snowboarding Association

 Castle Mountain Resort hosted the fourth stop of the ASA Southern Series on Sunday Feb. 21. This was an International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned event, and any participants with a FIS license were eligible to receive points. The event featured a slopestyle competition held for competitive snowboard athletes of all skill levels.

Shell representatives meet with Pincher Creek's Committee of the Whole

Josh Davis

On Wednesday December 2, 2015, the Town of Pincher Creek's Committee of the Whole met with a delegation from Shell, consisting of Operations Manager of the Shell Waterton Complex Peter Argument, and Shell Canada External Relations for Foothills Patty Richards. Their purpose was to share information regarding the proposed Castle Mountain Provincial Park, discuss their relationships with the new NDP Provincial Government, and discuss the creation of a regional Emergency Management organization.

Castle Mountain Area Structure Plan review proposed

Chris Davis

Castle Mountain Resort (CMR) representative Kevin Finn appeared before council for the MD of Pincher Creek No. 9 at council's October 13 meeting.  CMR has requested $40,000 in funding from the MD to assist with funding a new Resort Master Plan.

CMR hopes to be a "commercial base supporting the recently announced Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Park."

At their November 10 meeting council tabled the request for funding until MD staff consults with CMR about the proposal and reports back to council.