First tracks

It was a day of fresh, untracked powder that I’ll never forget. Crested Butte had been hammered for several days with storms. My son John and I had driven over to the ski area to spend the night, not imagining we’d see 30 more inches of fresh powder fall as we slept.

Rising early, we were the first up the lifts. We skied over to one of my favorite runs, only to find a rope blocking access. Just then a ski patrol appeared and said, “This is your lucky day.” He pulled the rope down and said, “Have fun!” We nearly disappeared into the waist deep powder.

Perhaps you’ve had a “first tracks” kind of...