Every kid deserves to feel what it's like to zoom down a mountain. Let's help make that happen.
The mountains are right there. But for a lot of families the price tag makes it feel impossible. Here is what one day actually costs:
What a family of 4 pays for one day at a Canadian ski resort
At $726 just to walk through the door, skiing is not a "maybe next weekend" decision. It is a financial event that most families cannot justify. The result: kids grow up 2.5 hours from world-class mountains and never get the chance to snap into the ski bindings.
Not every family has a car ready for mountain roads in winter. Or they do not know about the bus. The mountains feel far away even when they are not.
Norway, a country with a population only slightly larger than Alberta's, wins more Winter Olympic medals than any nation on earth. Their secret is not better snow. It is access. Every child gets to play.
Your first time at the top of a run it looks impossibly steep. Legs shaky. Come back two years later and you can barely see the decline. The mountain did not change. You did. That gap between fear and capability, closed by facing it, is one of the most important things a child can learn. Skiing delivers it over and over again for the rest of their life.
First Tracks Foundation covers the trip costs and connects families to discounted resort rates. Families go on their own time and their own way.
Short intake and income verification with CRA Notice of Assessment
Discounted lift tickets, free ski and boot rentals, and gas reimbursement based on your zone
Show up at the resort, redeem your voucher, and go. No group schedule, no bus — families go on their own time, their own way.
A short follow-up form helps us measure impact, tell your story, and secure funding for more families
A subsidy only stretches so far if lift tickets cost full price. Castle Mountain has already built a structure that supports access programs — free rentals for school groups, foundation-friendly pricing, and an operations team that understands what it means to open the mountain to families who otherwise couldn't afford to be there. That infrastructure is what makes First Tracks possible.
Group trips mean buses, chaperones, insurance, and 6am departure times. It is expensive and stressful. Giving families a subsidy is cheaper, simpler, and treats people with dignity. They go when they want, with who they want.
Flat rate per family. No receipts required, no mileage logs — just proof of visit. Zone is determined by postal code on the intake form.
There are two ways into the program. Both require a CRA Notice of Assessment to verify household income. No other documents needed.
Any family can apply directly through our website.
A trusted community organization applies on the family's behalf.
Castle Mountain has already done the hard part — building a resort operation where access programs can actually work. First Tracks layers onto that foundation with full accountability: every voucher is tied to one income-verified family, promo codes are single-use and cannot be shared, and the foundation maintains a complete audit trail from application to redemption. Castle gets a structured, transparent partnership — not a discount code floating around the internet.
The first day is the spark. Here is how First Tracks Foundation supports families beyond that, and how a season pass becomes possible for those who qualify.
Alumni status is not permanent — families apply at the start of each season with a CRA Notice of Assessment to verify income eligibility. This ensures the program serves those who need it most and isn't abused. Approved families receive up to 6 subsidized visits per season. After those 6 visits, families can move to the season pass program below.
Families who want the full season can qualify for a season pass subsidy with NOA income verification. Castle Mountain already sells passes at a significant discount during early bird season. When purchased at that reduced price, First Tracks subsidizes them even further.
Skiing is not just a day out. For kids who catch the bug, it becomes a world. Here is what that world looks like.
Ski culture is one of the most welcoming communities in sport. A shared mountain creates instant belonging with other kids, with families, and with a place.
A child who skis has a reason to travel, a goal to chase, and mountains to look forward to. That sense of anticipation and adventure shapes how they see the world.
You cannot scroll on a chairlift. The mountain competes with nothing. It demands full presence every run. Kids who have a sport they love spend less time in passive consumption and more time doing.
A kid who says "I ski" has an identity outside of school. That self-definition, that I am someone who does hard things outdoors, carries into every other area of their life.
Skiing is hard to learn and that is the point. Every child who sticks with it through the first frustrating lessons learns that effort compounds. Showing up is how you get good at anything.
Canada is a winter country. A child who learns to love winter, who runs toward snow instead of hiding from it, lives a bigger, fuller life in the country they call home.
Kids with a sport they love are more physically active, more socially connected, more resilient under pressure, and less likely to struggle with anxiety and depression. The goal of First Tracks Foundation is not a single ski day. It is the spark that turns into a passion. Passions change trajectories.
First Tracks Foundation exists because Castle Mountain made it possible. They've already put the structure in place — access-friendly pricing, on-site rentals for first-timers, and a genuine commitment to getting more families on the mountain.
Located about 2.5 hours south of Calgary near Pincher Creek, Castle Mountain offers genuine Rocky Mountain skiing at a fraction of the cost of the big-name resorts. The terrain is ideal for beginners, the atmosphere is welcoming, and the operation is built for families — not tourists. Without a resort partner willing to do this work, a program like First Tracks simply could not exist.
Castle Mountain already provides free rentals for school groups and has built the operational framework for subsidy programs. This isn't new territory for them — it's an extension of work they're already doing.
First-timer families can be fitted and on the snow within an hour of arriving. No gear to buy, no Calgary pickup, no logistics.
Dedicated beginner area, structured learn-to-ski lessons, and a mountain layout built for families learning together.
Castle's lift tickets, rentals, and passes are significantly lower — making the foundation's dollars stretch further and helping more families.
The mission is not to get families to the nearest hill. It is to create a first experience so good they keep coming back. Castle Mountain delivers exactly that — real Rocky Mountain skiing, a welcoming community, and a day families will never forget. The foundation brings the families. Castle Mountain gives them the experience that turns a first trip into a lifelong sport.
Castle Mountain is in southwestern Alberta near Pincher Creek. Families drive from across southern Alberta, southeastern BC, and as far east as Medicine Hat — from Lethbridge in an hour, Fernie in ninety minutes, Calgary in two and a half hours, or Medicine Hat in three.
Start with Castle Mountain. Prove the model. Then expand to the other hills.