I think it was actually more in the cleat. I would step down on the ground or walk a hill and they would get really tightly packed with snow/ice. It would take a while to get it all out before I could clip in. My husband didn't have too hard of a time with it but I would say like 60% of the ride I only had one foot clipped in.

It's defintely worth trying out. Just be ready to work hard on a once easy trail! I hadn't gone for a ride for about 3 or 4 weeks because of fractured ribs so maybe some of my conditioning was lost too.