Nestled in the central Adirondacks just outside Old Forge, McCauley Mountain is a cool place in New York. It is both a mountain peak and a popular ski resort.
McCauley Mountain Ski Center is located at Lat Long: 43.74° N 74.90° W.
McCauley Mountain offers a unique ski experience where it's not about the size of the mountain-it's about the amount of fun packed into it! McCauley Mountain's 633-ft vertical drop contains all the skiing boasted by ski areas three times its size. From long cruisers to steep bumps and glades, to double-black diamond challengers, McCauley has it all.
It's "big mountain" skiing without the long lift lines and high prices.
This mountain has a special connection to sports history. It was the home mountain for Hank Kashiwa. He was a famous Olympic skier.
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Key Features and Terrain
The very top of McCauley Mountain is quite high. It reaches an altitude of about 2,280 feet (695 meters). The ski resort offers exciting features for visitors. It has a vertical drop of 633 feet (193 meters).
McCauley provides skiing for all levels of skiers along with terrain of a “big mountain” ski resort without those long lift lines & high ticket prices. McCauley Mountain has 21 different ski trails. These trails vary in length, from short runs to longer ones up to 5,000 feet (1,524 meters).
McCauley Mountain Ski Center has 80 acres of terrain over 21 trails with a total length of 30 kilometers (19 miles). McCauley Mountain Ski Center is best suited to beginner skiers and snowboarders but there is some terrain for both expert and intermediates. Over half of the trails at McCauley Mountain Ski Center are covered by snowmaking.
Lifts and Accessibility
To get up the mountain, the resort uses several lifts. It has two T-bar tows and two rope tows. There is also one double chairlift. Now with a triple seater chairlift!
The mountain, which is owned and operated by the town of Webb in the southwestern Adirondacks, began spinning a new Partek triple chairlift on Friday, Jan. 17. The lift, while new to McCauley, is actually in its second life.
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The chair is the only ski lift at McCauley to reach the mountain’s summit - the only point to access several of its popular trails. “That mountain just means so much to every community member around here and so many people who come ski here,” he said.
According to Gardner, the old double lift was removed in the spring after the last ski season, and installation of the new lift began in late July.
Allen said the detachable lift - which operates at high speeds for most of its route, and allows the lift to function at different speeds simultaneously - will help expand carrying capacity for the mountain’s winter and summer operations, which are expanding at Little Gore.
With that comes improvements both in the loading at the bottom station and improved unloading at the top station,” he said. “Many, many fewer stoppages throughout the day.
Gardner said he and other people involved with the replacement carefully considered the mountain’s downhill capacity and were confident that the new lift, which moves considerably more people up the hill, will not lead to overcrowding on the slopes.
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Twenty-one slopes and trails up to a mile long, a double chairlift, two T-Bar lifts, and rope tows.
Interactive McCauley Mountain Ski Center trail map and piste map. View the piste and trails as well as the surrounding terrain and mountain contours for backcountry action.
Snowfall and Conditions
Average annual snowfall is 281" and can be as much as 400". Annual snowfall is 281 inches, and has reached 400 inches. In addition to natural snowfall, the snowmaking and exceptional grooming at McCauley, ensures the best possbile conditions for over 100 days of skiing annually.
The mountain will soon undergo several other major improvements. A number of these upgrades are being made to the mountain’s snowmaking infrastructure.
While the mountain has high-efficiency snow guns, its compressors, which Gardner said are about 30 years old, do not allow for a high enough air pressure for the guns to make snow at their full potential.
“That will allow us to start utilizing these high-efficiency guns and actually use them the way they’re supposed to,” he said.
Olympic Legacy
In fact, two Olympic skiers have come from Old Forge, including 1975 world professional alpine ski champion, Hank Kashiwa.
McCauley has produced three Olympic skiers: John "Louie" Ehrensbeck, a veteran of two US Olympic teams; Hank Kashiwa, who was also the World Professional Alpine Skiing Champion; and Maddie Phaneuf, a current US Ski Team member who went to the 2018 Olympics.
Summer Activities
When the snow melts, McCauley still offers fun-take the Scenic Chairlift Ride in the summer for hiking, biking, picnicking, and family-friendly playgrounds.
Additional Points
- McCauley Mountain is located in the Town of Webb, Herkimer County, New York.
- Opened in 1958, the summit of McCauley Mountain is at an altitude of 2200 feet.
- Great features at McCauley Mountain include top-notch grooming, designated bump runs and glades for intermediates and experts, double black diamond runs, and easier trails from the summit.
- Yes, at McCauley newer and more conservative skiers are not relegated to the bottom of the mountain.
- The easier trails from the top give those skiers and snowboarders views to the High Peaks from up in the skiers' alpine world.
Skiers moving out of the beginner ranks get a big bonus: McCauley offers accommodating trails from the summit. Everyone gets up in skier country to enjoy the views which extend all the way to Whiteface and Mt. Marcy in the high peaks region.
It’s good to see a small (ski) area, especially a municipal area, function,” he said. “It’s good. It’s really good.
“That line was always moving,” Gardner said. “There was never anybody just standing still.
Come play in our snow...