Had an extraordinary classic ski on recently tracked impeccable Gold trail -- clear skies with sun setting, 12F degrees, no wind, wonderful snow, few skiers as the multiple high school teams seem to have left for home new years eve celebrations. My wife and I have skied slope and X-c for over 50 years and today on the gold trail was a top 10.

(Bruce Schelske)

I skied every trail at Giants Ridge on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. All are in fine shape. The outer trails (Oslo, Biwabik Spur, Laurentian, and Wynne Creek) are a bit bumpier than others, but worth it for variety, scenery, and backwoods feel.

(David Moore)

Great skiing trails are in excellent shape. It felt great to have real snow under my skis. Skied Laurentian, wynne creek, summit, part of gold and bronze trails.

(Mark Gagliano)

I was worried about how the rain and sleet affected the trails and am pleased to report that conditions are excellent overall. Tracks are a little shallow but no fear of earth or rocks. Snow is a little abrasive but hard wax worked well.

(John Jereczek)

Great skiing up at Giants Ridge. There was fresh snow so they hadn't caught up on the grooming always, but the trails looked regularly groomed, both skating and classic. Great to get up there for some challenging and fun hills. Skier tip: take the chairlift up for an easier ski downhill.

(Robert Sullivan)

Wonderful conditions today at the Ridge. Silver was pristine for skate. Classic skied much of Cedar and Gold and parts of Bronze and Oslo. All had really good coverage...no thin spots or obstacles. Good classic tracks throughout. Light snow all day, and more predicted for tonight.

(Keith Gilbert)

Giants was gorgeous today with a few inches of fresh powder. I first skied with my daughters on bronze with all the pines with snow on them. We just got my 7 yr old some waxable skis and she was flying on them compared to the fish scale skis. We averaged 5.8 mph:) Then I skied the 10K Silver. The 'state' loop was groomed but the other 5k was just skied in. Still real nice on the soft snow. Then I skied Summit, Bronze, and Oslo with my headlamp. Summit and Bronze were great but Oslo wasn't as good but maybe it was because it was snowing hard and I was out skiing my headlamp so it felt adventuresome going down the hills at night. Neat to see so many people up here enjoying the beautiful snow, grooming, and that new chalet is nice too!

Photos:

(Kevin Ousdigian)

Beautiful up at Giants Ridge today. Hard packed deck( ice pellets of 4 days ago) is covered with fluffy snow. 3-4 inches , then another 2 inches last night. Several XC ski teams here, and they are getting a great workout. The groomers were not out yet when I did Cedar and Gold, but saw grooming signs on Bronze as I was finishing up. Temp 15 degrees F at 9 am, and 23 this afternoon. It is snowing now.

(Debra Caspers)

We received over two inches of grapple (hard ice pellets) now it is raining and is supposed to turn to snow. Crazy windy with trees down on the trails. Crews are working to get them opened up and groomed. We have 6+" of base and good skis will be fine. Weird weather for Christmas!

(John Filander)

Covered the Northern Lights, Silver, Summit and Bronze Trails. All in excellent shape with great snow. Awesome day!

(Mike Maiers)