Fortress Mountain Resort hosting open houses on plan to become year-round facility

Public consultations underway for Fortress Mountain Restoration project. Investors are ready to spend $100 million for first phase of redevelopment.

A series of public consultations are underway regarding Fortress Mountain Resort becoming operational four seasons of the year.

Designers have come up with a plan to revitalize the ski area that shut down in 2005 but now is home to the KPOW! Cat Skiing operation along with being a thriving movie production location.

“I think this will be the first time Albertans actually can have that ski in and ski out or mountain bike in and out to a short-term rental or condo, whatever their choice may be,” said David McKenna, Ridge North America president.

“This will be the first time we’ve, as Albertans, had this opportunity, and we want to make it spectacular for people.”

The development proposal would make Fortress a year-round hub with trail networks, activities for those seeking adventure, sightseeing on new gondolas and accommodations and all the amenities of a resort.

The renovation is planned over a 15-year period in five phases, with the first phase costing between $50 million and $100 million.

Once completed, the destination could host close to 11,000 guests with more than 600 full-time staff to look after them.

“We’re very well-capitalized,” said McKenna.

“We’re also going to be doing this with many, many partners, and the really exciting part is that we have interest from around the world, so this isn’t just Alberta money and some B.C. money coming in—we have European and American money that is really keen on investing in this project.”

The plan is designed by Western Securities Ltd. and Ridge North America, and if proposals are approved, work could begin in 2027.

The province also made the designation change under the All-Season Resorts Act to Castle Mountain and Nakiska in December 2025, which means they can now pitch proposals to expand tourist activities into the summer months.

“I think that everybody involved (in our project) is Calgary-local or has lived in the mountains, and so nobody’s really interested in ruining the very thing that will make it popular for people to attend,” said McKenna.

“Right now, the way you see the plans, well, they can all change, so we’re looking to have the advisers in and tell us that this area is more important than this area.

“I, as a layperson, don’t really know that, so we’re looking for the experts to tell us where that is, so we’re doing it right from the get-go. We don’t plan on doing the wrong thing and then having to move it.”

Andrew Boitchenko, Alberta’s minister of tourism and sport, said in December the three areas have the potential to create 24,000 new jobs, $3.6 billion in GDP and $4 billion in visitor spending, keeping more dollars in Alberta rather than seeing that money leaving the province.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) does think there are ways to develop recreation and tourism opportunities in Kananaskis Country sustainably.

“But when looking at Fortress, specifically, it simply isn’t,” said Chloe Hahn, CPAWS Southern Alberta conservation co-ordinator.

“We’re looking at everything from hotels, condos, to restaurants, retail shops, zip lines—basically, you name it—in an area with important wildlife corridors and also in an area that we already see a lot of issues in terms of traffic congestion and the amount of people that actually visit this.”

Hahn is concerned about the impact to bears and wolverines who move around the area and use that part of the park for denning.

“And the other thing is that it’s also going to impact critical habitat for threatened bull trout species,” she said.

“So, we’re looking at terrestrial and aquatic impacts to wildlife, and I think that’s an important thing for Albertans to recognize and also for the proponents and the government to also take into consideration.

“We need to look at those cumulative impacts on those species.”

Hahn is encouraging people to make sure their voices are heard at the public hearings.

“Albertans have, in previous engagement opportunities, really expressed that they want that lower-impact recreation and sustainable development, not large-scale development,” she said.

“I’m really hoping that all those Albertans don’t get discouraged and they come back out and they really voice those concerns again until, hopefully, they’re listened to.”

The Government of Alberta’s formal public consultation for the Fortress Mountain Resort proposal runs until Feb. 27.

Visitors can review project materials, speak with members of the planning and operations team and provide feedback.

Members of the public can also share feedback at any time during the consultation window by completing an online survey, available on the Fortress Mountain Resort website.