We have recieved 7" of new snow in the last 4 days! We are grooming with a combination of the Pisten Bully and the Ginzus. With the cold temps the fresh snow has set up well and should lead to great conditions for anyone who wishes to brave the cold temps!

(Benji Neff)

Yay for the Piston Bully! Nordic Nirvana was theme at Giant's Ridge today. Deep tracks and firm pole plants on most major trails. VR 75 provided super kick and fast skis on the Gold, Summitt, Bronze, Biwabik Spur, Wynne Creek, Laurentian and Northern Lights. Extra credit to the groomer guys - and kudo's to the Mesabi East Area Nordic Team - for lending a hand at today's Giant's Ridge Youth Ski League!

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(Cheri Johnson)

Today had the conditions I hope for every time I go out skiing. Skied the Bronze, Backside of the Gold, Summit, Wynne Creek, and Laurentian. Wynne Creek was the only one that was a little soft and pole plants were very soft. Everything else was fresh corduroy and extremely fast. I almost had the place to myself. With 60k of trails you very seldom ever run into anyone which is great. Tracks looked perfect and the couple of guys that were classical skiing that I ran into were all smiles.

(Mike Smith)

Great classical skiing on Summit, Bronze, Wynne Creek, Biwabik Spur and Laurentian. Trails tracks Fast downhills but skiable.

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(Roland George Ring-Jarvi)

At $17 for a ski pass I would have expected the trails to be in great shape. What we found instead were neglected trails. After 2 days of hundreds of high school skiers the trails looked they hadn't been touched by a single piece of grooming equipment, unless you include the ruts left by a snowmobile right down the center of the skate lane. In the future I will keep driving until I reach the Hidden Valley trails in Ely and drop a larger donation in their box for trails that are well groomed and maintained.

(Rob Weum)

Fantastic skiing at Giants Ridge and so much fun to be on natural snow. Skied Summit, Bronze, Gold, Silver, Biwabik Spur and Oslo. I would say the last two are in the worst condition with brush sticking up and the deck and tracks overall being uneven. Another concern is some fat tire biker rode on Oslo and Bronze and part of Summit and left large indentions in multiple spots. I don't know if this is allowed or a rogue cyclist, but it bears watching because the ruts can catch your skis.

(Jim Carlen)

I skied at Giants Ridge from Jan 3-6. Lots of snow! The Piston Bully had not been used on all trails. Soft and uneven (Silver trail 1/3 - Biwabik Spur 1/4). Conditions improved each day. Snowmobile tracks on groomed trails the last two days.

(Loren Johnson)

Giants Ridge has received over 14" of new snow in the past week, with 11" in the latest storm. We have been busy rolling, grooming and tracking the trails, and grooming operations will continue to be ongoing. We now have a 6-8" base with Good conditions. Pole plants are still on the softer side, but should firm up with additional grooming and cold temperatures. All trails are now open. Get out and enjoy the midwinter conditions!

(Benji Neff)

Trails continue remain in good condition. Roughly 1" new snow over firm base. Tracks remain in mostly good condition. Silver has not been groomed since last weekend but is skiable. Note the trail conditions listed on the Giants Ridge website are dated. There has been regular quality grooming every weekend since the 13th. Should be good skiing through the holidays.

(John Jereczek)

The trails have survived the warm weather and bright sunshine of Friday and Saturday. A few areas where grass, debris, dirt, showing through but it's still a very small proportion of the trails. Of the open trails (see Dec. 13 report) 95% are still solidly snow-covered and many are tracked.

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(Robin Raplinger)