Castle Mountain Resort ends season early amid lack of snow

A ski resort in southwestern Alberta was forced to end its season early on Monday because of a lack of snow.

Unseasonably warm weather has left the lower parts of Castle Mountain Resort near Pincher Creek bare, says general manager Brad Brush.

"Following the temporary closure last week, temperatures have remained high and no new snow have forced this closure," the resort’s website says.

'We will make every effort to reopen if conditions permit."

The resort has not decided yet how the roughly 1,000 season pass holders will be compensated.

"But certainly … we want to do things that will add value to their pass. But at this point we haven't made a plan yet," Brush said.

The mountain usually gets more than 900 centimetres of snow, but this year just 245 centimetres has fallen.

"I've been in the ski industry a long time and this is the first time I've had to do this. But Castle Mountain has had to do this before — in the 2004 season they closed in March, and again in the '90s. So it seems like every 10 years we have a year similar to this."

Unlike other resorts, Brush says Castle doesn't have snow making capabilities.