Conditions: Bring your ice skates - most of Como is an ice rink. The Glacier (extreme south) is OK on the east end for 1/4k; the west side gets icy as it moves away from the trees - there is soft snow right under the trees that has begun to be skied in - this adds another 1/4k.
Except for the glacier, skiing at Como is probably done until we get more snow and even then, skiing and grooming might push any new snow off this hard surface unless we get lucky.

(Karl Dewahl)

Conditions: So scary fast that it was slow.
Hard packed and fast, or at least it seemed so. Whatever time I gained on the uphills and flats was more than lost putting on the brakes on the downhills. I did my first "sit-down" of the season on the first downhill before I realized just how fast it was. (I much prefer sit-downs to fall-downs.) There are now quite a few large brown spots where the groomer bottomed out, but so far nothing you can't ski around if you look before you leap. Overall the coverage is still very good for skating. The strip along the south side by the zoo is as good as ever. Classic tracks had bottomed out in several places, but the classic skier I spoke with still found them tolerable.

(Lois Braun)

Conditions: Pretty good, considering low snow and warm temps. Grass still showing through under trees, but only a few spots with significant debris, and these can be avoided.
Had a very pleasant classic ski on south and west loops this afternoon. Not groomed since the light snow over last 24 hrs, but classic track still intact for the most part. At 28 degrees, surprisingly good glide with wax less skis. Skate deck with good coverage; not sure when it was groomed, but still has some corduroy showing at the edges.

(Bonita Eliason)

Conditions: Very good--groomed again recently.
Como was exceptionally nice today. A wide skate deck was groomed with new corduroy. The combination of new snow earlier this week and warmer temps have transformed the hard boilerplate of a few days ago into a trail that makes really nice skiing. There are still a few spots with exposed ground in the usual places, but overall coverage was quite good and much of the trail is pristine white. There are shalllow classic tracks along length of course with decent snow coverage. Two areas for caution: the short climb up chalet hill/putting green looks like it is getting thin enough to expose pavement and the top of descent closest to tow rope also has exposed spots. Overall Como hasn't looked this good in a long time.

(Kermit Pattison)

Very good - skate trail has very few obvious thin spots, classic track looks complete, if necessarily shallow.

(Karl Dewahl)

Conditions: Pretty darn good for skating!
What a difference half an inch of snow makes! Conditions tonight were very good, almost excellent, compared to what friends told me about yesterday, when it was scary fast! Wondering how long Como's loop is this year - it seems like longer than 5K. Or am I just slower than I used to be?

(Lois Braun)

Conditions: What a pleasant surprise!
Remarkable job by the Como groomers with so little snow. Really good classic tracks, used but solid! Grass peeking under some trees, but 99.9% of the trail is clean. Skate lane is a little slick for those without edges! Nice to ski those extra stretches and bends in the trail this year - it feels noticeably longer. Gold star; thanks.

Photos:

(Amy Myrbo)

Conditions: Very good/excellent.
Much thanks to whoever piled all the snow under the bridge! Conditions this evening were the fastest I've experienced all season. I plan to return tomorrow before the mercury plummets.

(Lois Braun)

Conditions: Very good for skate.
Fresh cord at around noon. Great coverage and almost no dirt showing. A repair plan for the section under the bridge was underway.

Photos:

(Jenneke Oosterhoff)

Conditions: Wednesday night the trail was in very good condition. Skate lane is wide and flat in most places. Classic track is good - with a very few places where ski edges have cut down to grass and a few more where the side of the track has been pushed out through use.
The heavy, wet snow last last week covered all the exposed grass. Everything is still thin, but for the amount of snow present, conditions are excellent. Under the bridge is as always the thinnest and most traveled by skiers and equipment - it is skiable but slow down and be careful in this area.

(Karl Dewahl)