![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2011/11/LaurenFritz1.jpg" "The winner: Lauren Fritz, Hatcher Pass, AK.")
It’s that time of year again. After months of waiting for mother nature to validate your existence, she kindly obliges with a dusting here and there of early-season snow. The minute you judge the ground to be adequately covered, you drop everything and are out the door.
Perhaps there was grass still poking through. There might not have been time to change out the baskets on your poles. Or maybe you were lucky enough to be on the coveted corduroy at Frozen Thunder. Either way your feet were on skis, your skis were on snow and your season had begun.
Send us your photos from that first (or second, or whenever) ski of the winter for the chance to win the 2012 FasterSkier First Tracks Photo Contest. The requirements, as usual, are only that there’s snow on the ground and skis on your feet.
Grand Prize: A goody bag of FasterSkier schwag.
Email you entry to info@fasterskier.com. Please include the date of the photo, the location, your name and mailing address in case you win.
Deadline for submissions is November 19th — just when we hope to start seeing everyone at West Yellowstone.
Check out last year’s entries here.
Audrey Mangan
Audrey Mangan (@audreymangan) is an Associate Editor at FasterSkier and lives in Colorado. She learned to love skiing at home in Western New York.
3 comments
bhusaby
November 11, 2012 at 10:46 am
Wow, what a photo. To imagine, those trails used to be groomed by Gordo, Galanes, and TBK with an Alpine. Scenery is still breath taking. Is the road still terrifying?
Tim Kelley
November 13, 2012 at 5:35 pm
Ben, Since the days that you mentioned … the road to the Independence Mine has been widened and paved. And lots of guardrails have been put in. It’s a lot tamer road these days.
Tim Kelley
November 13, 2012 at 5:43 pm
… and as proof that the road is safer these days – there has been no recent incidents as far as I know of USST women driving Mazda Miatas that have skidded off this road. 😉