Skied across the south half of the golf course. No groomed classic track but breaking trail across the powder was pretty nice for this novice. Enough powder to get by. A bit icy in some spots but they're generally avoidable.

(Adam Keester)

Como cross country ski trail was groomed today. There are some wet areas, but a welcome change to what we've had lately. Not enough base to put in a classic track. Enjoy!

Photos:

(James Bezanson, St. Paul Parks and Recreation)

Once again, kudos to SPP&R - the grooming made it possible to enjoy a few more days of skiing with yesterday's snowfall. Sticky, some wet patches showing through, but still Nordic skiing!

(Karin Roof)

Rolled Como golf course cross country ski trail. 85% perfection. The other 15% has a few wet areas. Tried my best to reroute the trail around the wet areas. Enjoy.

Photos:

(James Bezanson)

There is still cross-country skiing at Mount Como! The "glacier", that band of snow on the south edge of the golf course, where it is shaded by the trees on the ridgeline between the course and the zoo, still had quite skiable snow when the temps were in the high 40s. The skate deck was smooth and level, even with some evidence of corduroy. Out and back gets you perhaps one Km. My skis did not gouge ruts, or else I would have quit. For those wishing for a more challenging workout, you can go up and down the downhill slope where there is actually manufactured snow, which had been recently groomed. The out and back took me about three minutes. I couldn't go all the way to the tip top though because of a growing bald spot there. I wasn't sure it was even legit to cross-country ski there but was assured that it is by a staff person. At the base of Mt Como, in the shade of the tree line, there is also a stretch of maybe 60 meters with six parallel pairs of mostly flat classic tracks groomed for St. Paul Parks and Rec's CC training classes that are open to the public. Good skis would be fine in this area. I only suggested rock skis if you plan to ski over to the south side without taking off your skis between.

(Lois Braun)

Very poor conditions. Ice and exposed areas. Ungroomable. Both the classic and skate deck will be day to day. Sorry for the inconvenience from Como.

(David Schwarz)

I tried a lap at the U of M and then drove to Como. It looks like they took out the big groomer (PB?) because the trails were great. Snow is adhering to the ice underneath, and previous icy patches are gone or nearly so. There's some ice on top of the hill going to the back NW bowl. They did not groom up on top by the ski hill and there's some dirt across the trail after the tunnel, but so far, it can be avoided and I didn't hit any rocks (but there may be some small ones in the dirt). No tracks of course. Overall excellent conditions considering what they're working with. Thank you, thank you!

(Jay Wenner)

The south side currently has the best conditions. If you cannot climb without sliding an edge (on the snow covered ice), I'd stay off the north side. If you're uncomfortable going downhill over about 10-15 feet of bare ice, I'd stay off the north side. There are spots on the climbs where people have slid a ski exposing ice. The first downhill on the north side as a fairly large ice section, which is difficult to avoid. The tops of the hills on the back loop also have ice. Finally, the groomer (wisely) harvested snow from the hillside before the downhill to cover the car path/ice. It's quite lumpy (not good if you like to snowplow) and the steep little downhill has some ice. All this said, the trail is very skiable on good skis if you can use mostly your arms on sections of the climbs and you're comfortable gliding on skis over ice. Hats off to the groomer.

(Jay Wenner)

Kudos again to St Paul Parks & Rec trail grooming for making the most of the 2" of fresh snow, on top of the ice layer beneath. A nice "wide wale" groomed corduroy loop keeps the surface soft. A few areas with ice showing through, but all in very skiable. Thank you!

(Karin Roof)

Rolled Como golf course today. We received about 2 inches of snow. The short track by the zoo rolled well and is in much better shape than the big track. Big track is an ice block with 2 inches of fresh snow. Lots of exposed ice as well. We won't be able to groom any classic tracks without more snow. Skate skiing is manageable, but be careful.

Photos:

(James Bezanson, St. Paul Parks and Recreation)