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Family Jewels - West
Fortress Mountain, Alberta
Before you go to Fortress you need to ask yourself this question: Do you really want a different type of ski experience? One that is somewhere in between backcountry skiing, catskiing, and the usual resort ripping? If you’re going to complain about the lack of a good latte or the speed of the lifts, Fortress isn’t the place for you. But if you want to feel like you’re exploring the backcountry from a ski lift, you might want to check out this tiny anomaly.
Until two years ago, this five-lift hill tucked away in Alberta’s Kananaskis Country (about one hour from Calgary or Banff) was owned by Resorts of the Canadian Rockies, the friendly people who bring you Lake Louise, Fernie, Mont Sainte Anne and other resorts. Whether it was the lack of real-estate potential at Fortress or just a lack of direction, RCR basically ran the little hill into the ground and shut it down after the 2004 season.
Just as Fortress-loving locals were getting over the blow, a group of Banff investors named The Banff Rail Co. bought what was left and began trying to piece it back together for the 2005-06 season. The hill had been left in rough shape, though, and it took longer than expected to get the lifts up and running, pushing back its opening day by over a month. The day lodge never did open for 2005-06. Hungry skiers were sold burgers from a barbecue tent instead. Naturally, some pass holders were angry with the delays and message boards lit up with complaints. Looked at from a different perspective, though, the surprising thing was that a small group of people, with relatively limited resources, was able to get the hill up and running at all.
This season, Fortress is promising a Dec. 1 opening for the lodge and all lifts, including the Farside chairlift, which was not run at all last year. Instead, a snowcat towed skiers up so they could access the entire far side of the resort. The service was so popular that this season the cat will return to tow skiers up the Farside Shoulder or up to Baldy Glades for $5 a ride ($2 for pass holders). Compared to the cost of true catskiing, this looks cheap alongside the $349 season pass ($249 if you had a pass last year). Throwing another twist into the classic ski area setup, Fortress is adding a ski shuttle bus named “Helga” for 2005-06. Helga will allow timid winter drivers to park at the bottom of the access road and hitch a ride up to the lodge and lifts. Her more interesting role, though, will be picking up skiers after a descent of the chutes on the front side of the mountain. These chutes, including Hourglass and the Bandit Chutes, have always been popular as backcountry runs (with a car shuttle or long slog) but will now be controlled for avalanches and open to skiers as inbound terrain.
The current ownership has plans to expand the on-hill lodging options and to replace the old rental building. But to talk about Fortress’ facilities (or lack thereof) is to do the tiny gem a disservice. Fortress has always been known as a hill that gets dumped on and holds powder stashes for longer than any other ski area around. It also has a desire to open as much terrain as possible. Since taking over from RCR, the new owners have committed to controlling more hike-to, shuttle-from, or cat-to terrain than even optimistic locals would have hoped for.
Changes like these are bound to excite diehard skiers looking for an alternative to overcrowded, over-groomed ski areas that have guests opening their wallets at every turn. But the sceptics will say that Fortress made big promises last year and fell short in some areas. It all comes back to the same question: Do you really want a different type of ski experience? One without sushi lunches or lift lines? And lastly, do you want to ski at a hill that gets more snow than its neighbours, has a low skier volume, and different access options to make the most out of the snow for days after a storm? I know I do. —Kevin Hjertaas
DNA
Fortress Mountain, AB
Vertical: 329 m
Top elevation: 2,369 m
Snowfall: 630 cm
Lifts: One triple, two double, two T-bars, one snowcat, and "Helga"
Adult ticket: $39.70 weekend, $29.25 midweek
Season: December to early May
Info: skifortress.ca
Creary photo
