We skied the south loop near the zoo late afternoon and into the evening. By the time we were able to get out the course was well loved which will definitely help set the skate deck! I don't believe that they had tried to set classic tracks but, in any event, there were some home made ones that were OK to use. There are definitely some thin spots so be careful (especially going over the paved path.) Still, for this early in the season, it was great to ski and dream of days ahead.

Photos:

(Greg Loper)

Como was a bit of a mix, but certainly skiable, especially for skating. There is a rolled loop of about 1.2K on the side of the course closest to the zoo (the side toward Lexington is untouched). There are some areas where you can see bits of bare ground, a few places with brown ice from water coming up and lots of area that is just fine. Walkers had trampled some of the best sections along the "glacier" but overall it was a somewhat soft but enjoyable Thanksgiving skate ski. There are no classic tracks except for those made by individual skiers.

Photos:

(Kent York)

There are variable conditions around the course with an average of about 4" of snow. There are areas of standing water and sections (mostly on the windward side of hills) where there is no snow. There is no snow-covered way to get from the south half of the course to the north half, so we are focusing on the south half of the course today. With how wet everything is we will roll (but not groom with the Tidd Tech) this half of the course and let it setup with the cold overnight temps. Expect around 1km of rolled trail.

Photos:

(Tyler McKean, St. Paul Parks and Recreation)

Grooming plans: Saint Paul Parks and Recreation is very excited about the predicted snow in the next few days and are making preparations to groom a trail as soon as we can. Currently the turf at the golf course is not frozen and we expect this will melt some of the first snow we receive this week. This could delay our grooming to protect the golf course as things firm up, but we are planning to groom if we can. Early on Wednesday morning we will be moving equipment into place and assessing the precipitation we receive overnight. If conditions allow we will roll and groom a trail on Wednesday afternoon. Groomers will not be out over the holiday Thursday and Friday but will be ready to groom over the weekend if we get sufficient snow. There are still a lot of variables at play with these weather systems so we appreciate everyone's patience and understanding. We'll be monitoring conditions throughout the next few days and will adjust plans to get a trail established as soon as we can. Hopefully this will be the start of a long and excellent cross country season!

(Tyler McKean, St. Paul Parks and Recreation)