‘Wine and Cheese’ winter afternoons in the Colorado Rockies

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Abstract

top of the Ten-mile canyon as you drive southwest on Interstate 70. The ski resort first comes into view as you come around a sharp curve at the top of the canyon. At this point, you’re still about two miles from the resort.Well, on this particular day in the week right after Christmas, as I rounded that curve two miles away, it looked like the mountain was covered with ants. I knew that those ‘ants’ were people. I said to myself, “There is no way I’m going skiing with that many people on the hill.”So I immediately turned the car around and headed back toward my apartment in Frisco, Colorado. The day was still young, the sun was shining, there was a good layer of fresh snow on the ground, so I thought I would try to do something I’ve never done before, cross-country skiing.After renting a pair of cross-country skis for the day, I set out from the rental shop in Frisco. My destination was Dillion, which was about four miles across the frozen Dillon Reservoir. The Reservoir had long since frozen over, and a recent snowfall had covered it with about 6 inches of fresh new powder. It would be the perfect morning for my first cross-country skiing experience.It took me the better part of an hour and a half to get to Dillon. I got there at lunch and was famished from the good work out across the Reservoir. I rewarded myself with a nice leisurely lunch at one of the better restaurants in Dillon before the trek back to Frisco.It had been my first experience, but I was hooked. It certainly was different than alpine skiing, but it didn’t take nearly as much effort as I thought it would. Additionally, there’s just something unique about gliding effortlessly across a fresh layer of snow on a sunny Colorado day being surrounded by so many majestic mountains that made the experience truly unforgettable.Once word got around tha

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t I had taken up cross-country skiing, many of my friends began to invite me on their little cross-country excursions. Most of these were half-day trips that began at the base of one of the many mountain valleys that surrounded the Dillon reservoir.We parked our cars at the entrance to the valley, ski up the gentle upslope for about two hours until we got to the real base of the mountain. There we would stop for lunch. There we would break out our sandwiches, cheese, snacks, and the obligatory two or three Bota bags of wine and enjoy the bright sunny winter afternoon.After lunch came the real reward. The two-hour trek on a gentle upslope meant a return trip down the same slope. As it was a downward trek back to the cars, very little effort was needed to return. The skis did the lion’s share of the work, only to be goaded on by the occasional push of the ski poles.After having spent the better part of my life as a downhill enthusiast, I made another interesting discovery. The relaxed nature of the entire cross-country skiing scene seemed to engender a lot more camaraderie than the downhill ski scene. Oh sure, there’s the whole cross-country ski racing subculture, which can be just as competitive as its downhill counterpart. But it seemed to me, for the most part anyway, that the entire cross-country scene is fairly laid-back. That might be because while it’s easy to engage in some pretty friendly chatter on cross-country skis, it’s a lot harder to do the same thing when you’re bombing down the slopes at 20 or 30 miles per hour.Those ‘wine and cheese’ afternoons high in the Rockies were a great way to cure ‘cabin fever.’ The exhilarating skiing, the fun, and the friendship made these cross-country skiing trips up into the mountain valleys of Summit County Colorado some of the more memorable experiences of my life in Colorado.</article></body>

These cross-country afternoons with friends were one of the highlights of my life in Colorado.

Cross country skiing is certainly not the most’ extreme’ outdoor winter sports activity that anyone could take up. But there is nothing like cross-country skiing as a perfect way to spend a late winter or early spring afternoon.

The coolest thing about cross country skiing is that you can do it anywhere there is snow. In the Northeast and the Upper Midwest, thousands of parks and forests would make for an ideal cross-country outing. In the Mountain and the Pacific Northwest, there are hundreds of gentle mountain valleys with streams and rivers that make for ideal cross-country outings.

Cross country skiing is certainly cheaper its downhill sibling, that’s for sure. Rather than worrying about spending thousands of dollars on fancy alpine ski equipment and outfits, you only need a good pair of cross-country skis, boots, and poles. A complete set (skis, boots, and poles) will only cost about 300 to 400 dollars. There is no need for fancy ski clothes; almost everyone I know that picks up the sport skis in jeans, flannel shirts, and a good winter coat, hat, and gloves. There are no lines, no lift tickets, just you and your friends and nature.

I first picked up cross-country skiing as a result of a Christmas break many years ago. I was living and working in Colorado ski country and wanted to take in a day of skiing at my favorite resort — Copper Mountain.

Copper Mountain sits at the southern end of a very wide open high-mountain meadow at the top of the Ten-mile canyon as you drive southwest on Interstate 70. The ski resort first comes into view as you come around a sharp curve at the top of the canyon. At this point, you’re still about two miles from the resort.

Well, on this particular day in the week right after Christmas, as I rounded that curve two miles away, it looked like the mountain was covered with ants. I knew that those ‘ants’ were people. I said to myself, “There is no way I’m going skiing with that many people on the hill.”

So I immediately turned the car around and headed back toward my apartment in Frisco, Colorado. The day was still young, the sun was shining, there was a good layer of fresh snow on the ground, so I thought I would try to do something I’ve never done before, cross-country skiing.

After renting a pair of cross-country skis for the day, I set out from the rental shop in Frisco. My destination was Dillion, which was about four miles across the frozen Dillon Reservoir. The Reservoir had long since frozen over, and a recent snowfall had covered it with about 6 inches of fresh new powder. It would be the perfect morning for my first cross-country skiing experience.

It took me the better part of an hour and a half to get to Dillon. I got there at lunch and was famished from the good work out across the Reservoir. I rewarded myself with a nice leisurely lunch at one of the better restaurants in Dillon before the trek back to Frisco.

It had been my first experience, but I was hooked. It certainly was different than alpine skiing, but it didn’t take nearly as much effort as I thought it would. Additionally, there’s just something unique about gliding effortlessly across a fresh layer of snow on a sunny Colorado day being surrounded by so many majestic mountains that made the experience truly unforgettable.

Once word got around that I had taken up cross-country skiing, many of my friends began to invite me on their little cross-country excursions. Most of these were half-day trips that began at the base of one of the many mountain valleys that surrounded the Dillon reservoir.

We parked our cars at the entrance to the valley, ski up the gentle upslope for about two hours until we got to the real base of the mountain. There we would stop for lunch. There we would break out our sandwiches, cheese, snacks, and the obligatory two or three Bota bags of wine and enjoy the bright sunny winter afternoon.

After lunch came the real reward. The two-hour trek on a gentle upslope meant a return trip down the same slope. As it was a downward trek back to the cars, very little effort was needed to return. The skis did the lion’s share of the work, only to be goaded on by the occasional push of the ski poles.

After having spent the better part of my life as a downhill enthusiast, I made another interesting discovery. The relaxed nature of the entire cross-country skiing scene seemed to engender a lot more camaraderie than the downhill ski scene. Oh sure, there’s the whole cross-country ski racing subculture, which can be just as competitive as its downhill counterpart. But it seemed to me, for the most part anyway, that the entire cross-country scene is fairly laid-back. That might be because while it’s easy to engage in some pretty friendly chatter on cross-country skis, it’s a lot harder to do the same thing when you’re bombing down the slopes at 20 or 30 miles per hour.

Those ‘wine and cheese’ afternoons high in the Rockies were a great way to cure ‘cabin fever.’ The exhilarating skiing, the fun, and the friendship made these cross-country skiing trips up into the mountain valleys of Summit County Colorado some of the more memorable experiences of my life in Colorado.