Ppppffffftttt. I am soooooo not impressed; for I have skied the slopes of mighty “Mt. Como” in St. Paul, MN.
Mt. Como is, in fact, a small rise with a short rope tow on a public golf course in St. Paul’s Como park. There are two trails: one on the left side of the lift and one on the right. I don’t understand why not, but apparently the St. Paul Parks Deptartment does not publish key stats such as vertical drop, annual snowfall, average snow density, skiable acres, percentage of easy, intermediate, and advanced terrain, access to backcountry, etc. Accordingly, I can’t relay the precise lift-served vertical. Nonetheless, I would surprised Mt. Como tops 60 ft., and is likely a good deal less than that, as the rope tow can’t be more than 200 feet long on a very gentle slope.
I’ll share a few additional facts about Mt. Como in a likely vain attempt to discourage arguments that a rope tow on a golf course is not a “real” ski area.
1. Yes, they do indeed charge for lift tickets;
2. There is meticulous grooming to ensure that skiers may smoothly carve BOTH turns of each run;
3. There is equipment rental;
4. There is snowmaking;
5. Lessons are available for all skill levels;
6. There is a chalet;
7. There are even lights for late-afternoon and evening skiing.
When my daughter got her first pair of skis for Christmas about a month before her 4th birthday and just absolutely, positively HAD to try them out the next day, we went to Mt. Como and had a hoot earning our turns just as if we had gone sledding. We graduated to the insanely-long magic carpet at Buck Hill the next weekend and have never looked back. But I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the majestic, snow-shrouded peak of Mt. Como.
Sorry, no pics.