My family went over Christmas break and had a great time at Granite Peak! The staff was friendly and the 2 high speed chairlifts are first class. They do need to open up the lines and access to the high speed 6 person chair to make the line flow better. 700 vertical feet with mile long trails is pretty good for the midwest. The variety is good and the terrain is legit - a black is really a black here! Terrain parks are varied and the moguls runs (yes more than one)are laid out well. The historic chalet and outdoor patio are a nice touch. The other larger lodge fills up quick so break for lunch early and avoid the crowds. Early season snow conditions were pretty good considering the warm start to the winter. This is a big place by midwest standards (almost 500 acres) so there is always a place to go to avoid the Christmas holiday crowds. I heard rumor of a third high speed chair that would be put on the east side of the mountain - that would be sweet. The prices are higher but this is not your average Midwest hill.

$58 for a Midwest lift is definitely pricey, then I get up there and find out that the Saturday night lift special is ONLY $15. Problem with Granite is that 70% of the terrain is in the first half of the run from the top, after that, it's almost not worth skiing down any farther, so we use one of the mid-stations to reload the chairlift at the bottom of the "steeper" part of the hill, instead of riding the hi-speed chair when it fills up. Last time there, they insisted on only using one guy to scan tickets, so naturally, he was the choke point and not the high-speed lift. They also kept the day lodge closest to the hi-speed chair closed for the day (on a Sunday), when it's way bigger that the "Historic Lodge"