Somebody has to walk first through fresh snow. After that, everyone else just follows the footprints.

The first pass through anything untried is disproportionately hard, and everyone after benefits from work they will not see. That is the actual cost of going first, and it is also the reason a path exists at all. Whoever waits for footprints is waiting for someone to spend what they would rather not.

If you are hesitating because nobody has done it in your circle, take that as the reason rather than the warning. Go slowly and leave notes for whoever comes next. Being first is mostly stubbornness plus a tolerance for looking uncertain.