Since moving to Colorado, Pat and I have managed to go cross-country skiing about once a year. I wish we could go more often, but we don’t have our own gear (yet). Fortunately, there’s a place not too far away that rents gear for a decent price, and there are some trails in the mountains northwest of Denver that are well suited to our ability levels.
This past winter, we headed off one Saturday morning in early March for our annual XC ski day in the mountains. Our previous outings had been a lot of fun and the weather forecast looked gorgeous, so we were pretty excited. Sadly, the excitement was short-lived.
First, the rental shop gave me skis that were longer than I requested, a fact I didn’t notice until we’d already left. In retrospect, we should have gone back. I figured the extra 10cm wouldn’t make that much difference, but it did. I’m not a graceful person in general, and having longer-than-usual skis certainly didn’t help.
We arrived at our destination – the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park – and drove in to the winter parking area, about halfway up the road. From here, the plan was to ski 1.5 miles (2.4 km) up the road to the trailhead and continue up to some frozen waterfalls. We figured this would be an ideal ski location; wide, not too steep, and somewhat less popular than the main area of the park. And while the road and parts of the trail were indeed pretty wide and flat, other sections turned out to be very narrow this time of year.
Most problematic, though, was how icy the snow was. From the very beginning, we were slipping and sliding (and falling) all over the place. We couldn’t get any traction, and it was even a struggle in some places to plant my poles firmly into the snow. It was absolutely the worst snow I’ve ever attempted to ski on.
We pressed on, figuring once we reached the trail it would be better. It was not. So we threw in the towel. We were both beyond frustrated and having a miserable time of it. And the worst was yet to come… we had to retrace our icy steps back to the car, except this time in a downhill direction. This was when we discovered problem #2: we wanted to take our skis off and just walk back but we couldn’t figure out how to unclip from the bindings.
In a million years, this wasn’t a problem I ever would have foreseen. I’ve been skiing my entire life, and we’d rented skis from this shop multiple times before. I didn’t bother to ask any questions because of course I knew how to use the equipment. Except, as it turns out, these stupid newfangled bindings. So we had no choice but to ski back down the icy trail to the car.
We may as well have been on an ice skating rink in high heels for all the traction and control we had. Thank goodness there weren’t many people on the trail. It was really scary, and I’m honestly surprised we made it back in one piece. At one point I face-planted. Literally. As in, I fell forward and my chin came into contact with the ground. It was brutal, and we both ended up with multiple bruises. I haven’t fallen that hard that many times since I was a kid.
Back at the car, we now had to take off our boots – which we still couldn’t figure out how to unclip from the skis. When we got back into cell service, I was able to look it up… turns out we had to reach down and twist the front of the bindings. Why someone thought that was a good idea, I don’t know. I’ve never seen bindings you can’t pop open with your ski pole, and I think it’s safe to say we never would have figured it out on our own. Lesson learned: always ask about the gear, even if you’ve used it before.
If we hadn’t rented the skis, we probably would have just given up at this point and headed home. But since we’d paid for them, we stubbornly decided to find a plan B in an attempt to get our money’s worth. I’m glad we did, because the second half of the day was much improved!
We drove a short distance south to Brainard Lake Rec Area – a place we’d been many times before and knew was a good option for skiing. It was 11am now – a very late start by Colorado standards – but we were lucky enough to find an overflow parking spot that wasn’t far from the main lot. Boots and skis now able to be separated, we headed up to the Lefthand Reservoir Road which is closed to cars in the winter but open to skiing and snowshoeing.
Lefthand Reservoir Road was perfect for our ability level! It’s wide, the elevation gain is gradual, the snow was in good condition, and we saw very few people in the 2 miles (3.2 km) to the reservoir.
And while the reservoir was almost empty and the ground around it a little barren, the mountains behind it were pretty spectacular!
I’m glad we persevered. If we hadn’t, if we’d ended on such a bad note, I think it would have dampened our future enthusiasm for skiing. Instead, we came home bruised, sore, and exhausted – but also looking forward to returning to Lefthand Reservoir on our next ski outing!
The Important Stuff:
- Getting there: Lefthand Reservoir Road departs to the left just before the Brainard Lake Rec Area entrance station; in the winter, park outside the entrance station at the winter lot and ski/snowshoe up the road. In the summer, you can drive all the way to the reservoir
- Fees and passes: none
- Hiking: in the summer no hiking is needed to reach the reservoir; in the winter it’s about 2 miles (3.2 km) each way with about 400 feet (120 m) of elevation gain
- Where to stay: Lefthand Reservoir is day use only, but there is one campground up Brainard Lake Road (reservations required) or you can do this as a day trip from the Denver area
- Other: Lefthand Reservoir provides drinking water for nearby areas, so please do all you can to avoid contaminating it (e.g. don’t let your dog splash around in it, don’t enter the water with sunscreen or lotion on, use the bathroom far from the water’s edge, and don’t leave anything behind)
Handstands Around the World 
I only went cross country skiing once and it was fun but HARD. I can’t even imagine trying to do it on ice. I’d be sledding on my butt the whole way back down. Glad you guys made it through and made the most of your day. Sure is beautiful there!
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Yeah, butt sledding was pretty much our strategy at some points as well. Not so fun.
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Now I understand why cross country skiing seems to be less popular back east. The snow tends to be icy. Thanks for the education
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Cross-country skiing is such a fun way to explore the great outdoors. If you’re a beginner, just putting on the skis for the first time can be a fun challenge. And when they start to glide and you don’t know what to do – except maybe throwing yourself in the snow – it’s such a thrill. And when you try to make your first turn on a green slope, your heart will be pumping for sure. I loved putting on my skis back when I used to live in Latvia, it was one of my favourite ways to stay in touch with nature. Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva
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It is! I love skiing, you can just go out on your own and find solitude and cover a decent amount of distance. I bet skiing in Latvia was so pretty! I don’t know much about the country so I just did a google search of the terrain and it looks perfect for skiing!
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I use Alexander’s phrase for terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days all the time! Perfect description of your day (especially the ridiculous bindings), but I admire your willingness to get back out there that same day!
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I was hoping people would recognize the inspiration for the title! It popped into my head after I fell for the millionth time and just seemed so appropriate.
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I’m glad it all worked out in the end. I’ve been on XC skis going downhill on icy trails and I agree – not fun.
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I am glad for your honest review of this disastrous day, it only gives more credit to all your wonderful hikes where everything is perfect.
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I think it’s a good thing to have days that don’t go so well… it makes us more thankful for the good days and periodically reminds us of the importance of being prepared for anything. Figured it was important to share the good and the bad.
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Lovely write up of a time when it doesn’t always work. Great perseverance though, love that photo of the earthen dam and the mountains
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Thank you!
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Well, you did get some wonderful photos and quite a story to tell! If only the shop had shown you how to release the bindings.
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I really wish they had, something so atypical is really something they should point out to customers.
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Oh no!! Good for you for skiing again at another spot. We ski on fat backcountry skis and I hate skiing on ice. X-C skis would have been awful. Glad it was just bruises though it could have been so much worse! Maggie
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I think we might try renting different skis next time, they have some slightly wider ones with edges (similar to backcountry ones I think) that would give us more traction and control.
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I’m sorry you had a bad day but I can’t stop laughing at your title LOL!
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Hahaha I kinda borrowed it from a book I read as a kid…
https://m.barnesandnoble.com/w/alexander-and-the-terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-day-judith-viorst/1100238460
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I THOUGHT it sounded familiar!! Would never have guessed it came from a book. I also didn’t know I remembered that book until I saw the cover picture haha
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Yeah I didn’t really know I remembered it either until it popped into my head that day 😂
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Cross-country skiing on icy snow is the worst. Unfortunately I had to learn this the hard way too. Sounds like a terrible experience with the ice, not knowing how to unclip from the bindings (what a stupid design) and by falling. What a disaster! Glad you were able to salvage part of the day by finding a better area to go cross-country skiing.
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Me too! We won’t be going back to that first location ever again. Sorry to hear you’ve suffered through a similar experience.
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You managed to make the best of the situation.
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We tried, I’m glad we were able to somewhat salvage the day.
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Oh dear … well, I’ve never been on skies before in my life (actually, I’ve never even touched skies in my life before). I would be the one on my bum the whole way down (and crawling the whole way up 👀).
But with all the slipping and sliding in the beginning, you’ve once again managed to just take beautiful pictures!
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Yeah if I go downhill skiing I spend most of the time on my butt. I prefer flatter terrain for sure, much less scary. Thanks for reading!
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Turned out to be quite the adventure, although sadly it appeared not to be the most-pleasant one! I’ve never skied before, and based on your post, I’d be a bit apprehensive to give it a try, especially in such a precarious situation…but the views look lovely, despite the mishap!
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Yeah I wouldn’t recommend this for your first time skiing hahaha! But when you make it back to Colorado, there are some great areas for skiing and you could take lessons and start on the beginner terrain.
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