With a holiday season bathed in warm and wet weather, Duluth’s ski hills found themselves struggling.

Mike Ohara, hill manager at Mont Du Lac Resort; and Alli Fairbanks, indoor operations manager at Spirit Mountain, say the conditions kept athletes away from the slopes.

“It was definitely a rough one. Rain and 45 degrees in December, especially over the holiday weekend, is pretty painful but both painful to watch and difficult to get people out to come to ski in the rain. It’s hard on the snow so we have been rebuilding our base quite a bit over the past few days,” said Ohara.

“The weather has been a little interesting around Christmas. It was a little foggy and kind of upward 40 degrees, which was not great for us. But we pushed through that,” said Fairbanks.

Now, as temperatures have dropped, both Mont Du Lac and Spirit Mountain have bounced back and are full of visitors once more.

“So, we just kind of got through our Christmas week and we had a lot of people coming in. Just getting out on the hill for Christmas, enjoying time with their families. And that’s something we love to see here. As people coming from out of town to spend Christmas in Duluth,” said Fairbanks.

After another week of snow making, a fresh coat of powder is ready for athletes to shred.

“I would say the snow right now is super crisp. It’s going to get you some nice turns, whether you’re skiing, snowboarding. Some just good turning conditions in the snow,” said Fairbanks.

“It has benefited snow making most certainly. Obviously, some people like to stay inside when it hits the single digits and zero but everybody who has been out on the hill has had a good time,” said Ohara.

And when out on the hills, Fairbanks reminds everyone to know their skill levels when hitting the trails.

“Just making sure you know your limits when you’re out on the hill. There can be some icy spots in various areas, especially when the snow warms up a little bit during the day. And then at the night it’s going to kind of get colder. It’s going to freeze up a little bit. So especially when you’re out at night, just being careful of your surroundings,” said Fairbanks.