Peak foliage, summer-like temperatures, clear skies, and improved chairlift equipment combined for a record number of riders at McCauley Mountain this past weekend, according to Town of Webb Supervisor Ted Riehle.
“It was the biggest weekend we’ve ever had up there,” he said.
Peak weekend of 2013 had been the biggest on record for chairlift riders with 554 on Saturday and 974 on Sunday for a total of 1,928, according to Riehle.
But last weekend marked a new standard for rider capacity, he said.
Saturday, September 27 saw 1,402 riders, while Sunday, September 28 saw 1,496.
“That 2,898 rider total is about a 50 percent increase from last year,” Riehle said.
And the thanks goes mostly to an upgrade to the chairlift system that happened this past June.
The drive assembly was replaced which allowed more chairs to be added to the chairlift cable.
“We went from 21 chairs to 42 for summer operation,” Riehle said.
So riders were able to the board the chairs with shorter wait times.
And that meant more revenue for the Town of Webb.
“We had an increase of approximately $5,800 from this same weekend last year,” Riehle said.
Additionally energy costs have gone down by a third, thanks to the drive upgrade, he said.
The improved chairlift has benefited everyone involved, according to Riehle.
Wait times for the McCauley lift had been nearly an hour-and-a-half on its busiest days. Now the wait is a half-hour tops.
“Obviously energy savings are always a plus; but being in the tourist business as we are, service to our visitors is extremely important,” Riehle said.
“With those wait lines reduced, people were happy to take that ride. Customer satisfaction is high because of it, and no one had to be turned away,” he said.
“We were able to realize some big numbers last weekend,” Riehle said. “Definitely a win/win situation.”