This is a story of my ski fear and how I tamed it. I haven’t overcome it. But now I know how to control my fear and enjoy skiing, even though I am scared sometimes. I have so many girlfriends who have the same problematic relationship with mountains. That is why I feel I should share my ways of dealing with it.
I am a summer person, for sure. However, there is something magical in the mountain winter holidays. Mountains amaze and delight us. Breathtaking views of white slopes, crisp, fresh air, and glittering snow are just some things you can enjoy during ski holidays. Long, relaxing dips in steaming hot pools surrounded by wondrous snow-covered scenery have their unique charm, too. And skiing, of course, which is the main reason for coming to the mountains in the wintertime.
My Skiing Story
My first encounter with the wintery mountains was 15 years ago in Austria, Badgastein. It’s my 15th skiing anniversary this season. We went with my husband (we didn’t have kids then) and some friends. I went to ski school for five days and was improving rapidly. I enjoyed it to the max. The weather was perfect, with a clear blue sky. Many blue slopes were precisely what I needed for my ski level. I was happy that I was making good progress.
On the last day of our holiday, my friends convinced me to go with them because “I was ready.” Probably, that was the biggest mistake I made. That day, I learned that not every day is a perfect blue sky day with beautifully groomed pistes. It was foggy with the grey sky. Even in its best condition, the red slope was too steep for my ski level then. And in addition to the sour mix, the slope was full of icy patches and bumps. I was constantly falling, but there was no other way of going down, just skiing. I cried my lungs out. My legs were sore. I had fear in every muscle of my body. I could not see anything because of the fog and tears in my eyes. At the end of the slope, I was in a horrible physical and mental condition.
This was how I developed a fear of ski and hight.
However, it didn’t stop me from skiing. I have a persuasive husband, and I didn’t want to be the weak link in our family. Every year before the ski holidays, I wondered if I would ski. I had regularly considered giving up on skiing. I saw how my husband and kids were enjoying the slopes. But I was not sure if I liked it or not. It was fun but scary, too. I had terrible and good ski seasons. I had tears and smiles on my face. “It was amazing” and “I hate skiing ” came from my mouth the same day. So, I am in some love-and-hate relationship with skiing. But at least I didn’t quit, and I ski every year.
The Change
However, the last three year’s ski holidays were different. I had never cried, never frozen out of fear, and I genuinely enjoyed every moment spent on our vacation. And this year was the best ski holiday ever. So, it took me around twelve years to decide whether I liked skiing. That is why please don’t give up after the first try.
15 Tips to Tame Your Ski Fear That Really Work
After 15 years of experience, I finally know how to tame my fear of skiing and enjoy it. And these are my tips to tame your skiing fear. So, if you are the one who is dreading ski holidays and procrastinating or choosing to wait for your family and friends at the bottom of the mountain and miss all the fun, I hope my tips will help you.
1. Prepare mentally
Preparing for your ski trip distracts you from fear, and instead of thinking how afraid you are, you will try to picture an excellent possible ski episode in your head. Imagine how you gracefully go down the slope, how the sun is hitting your cheeks, how you sip hot chocolate on the top of the mountain. Program your brain positively with hypothetical optimistic scenarios every time. This psychological preparation helps to decrease fear and build confidence.
2. Set a realistic goal
Ask yourself why you want to ski. I want to ski because I like small skiing resorts, love mountain views, and love having coffee on the top of the mountain. My goal is to enjoy one week of holiday, have fun with the family, and, most of all, face my fears. In previous years I had different goals like not to cry on the top of the more challenging sections of the slope, or not to walk down instead of skiing, do more turns, or keep my legs parallel. I have never thought of going down fast or trying black slope, or going as good as my husband, or as fast as my husband.
It is essential to set yourself a realistic goal. Set small, achievable goals, and you will be proud of yourself. Starting skiing with the rest of the gang who ski from their childhood or with your adrenalin-wired hubby might not be a valid goal for some time or not a goal at all. And that is OK. But spend time with your gang between skiing in a nice restaurant on the mountain might be an excellent achievable goal. Focus on your progress, not try to catch up with other friends as fast as possible.
3. Prepare physically
Skiing is an active sport – a mix of endurance resistance training and interval training. It is the mix of eccentric, isometric, and concentric muscle work that challenges lower body muscles in a much more comprehensive range than most other forms of exercise. Skiing is a complete lower-body workout that challenges large muscles in your thighs and much smaller muscles around your knees.
Can you ski if you do not exercise on a regular basis? Yes. Would it be easier to ski if you have well trained leg muscles? Yes. During my skiing years I saw huge difference when I started weight lifting and built stronger leg muscles. Before that my legs were burning after the day on the slopes and it felt like I had no power to do turns. Now, I feel totally different and I think weight lifting helped for sure. I feel like after a workout, but my legs are not sore.
Many exercise routines strengthen the lower body. So you can choose. But you need to get your physical shape ready in advance. It will be challenging for your legs to do all those skiing turns in a coordinated manner if your muscles are too weak to offer stability and coordination and are not used to daily workouts. If you feel pain in your legs, you can not control them well. Lack of control increases fear. So, to overcome skiing fear, do your homework way in advance at the gym.
4. Choose the ski resort and time of your ski holiday wisely
The place where you go skiing and when you go skiing has a tremendous effect on how much you will enjoy your skiing, and for those who have little confidence, this might play a significant role. A successful ski trip means picking a resort with manageable terrain and minimal crowds. You should do some investigations and avoid crowded places with challenging terrain. Choose a place with gentle terrains, wide pistes, and fewer skiers. Not only will you feel more confident on slopes at that comfortable level and wait less for the lifts, but you will not feel the constant fear of being knocked down by another skier or snowboarder. This might be the most important of all the tips I can give.
5. Take ski lessons
First, you shouldn’t rely on yourself or your friends to learn basic skiing techniques. Even the best friend who is the best skier can not be better than a qualified ski instructor. Second, save your money, and instead of taking private ski instructors, join group classes. You will learn more and quicker. The biggest plus is that your instructor can not give you full attention, which means you can not complain about how afraid you are or can not do it. Herd mentality influences you to adopt the behaviors of others, and you go with the flow.
The instructor would never take you to a slope that is too hard for you and he would show you the exact way how to handle a bit harder bits of the slope. Instructors would help you if you fall or lose a ski or a ski stick. He knows the slope map perfectly, so you will never be lost.
I suggest sticking with group ski lessons until your ski technique improves, you feel comfortable on red slopes, and you gain the confidence and autonomy to try it on your own. You might need one ski season with the instructor or ten seasons – very individual. It is better to build confidence slowly and steady than to risk your confidence get knocked by one too hard or too steep section of the slope wiring feeling of struggle and ski fear into your brain.
These are my kids at ski school some years ago. But I was were too, and for many years in a row.
6. Choose the right ski partners
After you feel comfortable going on a mountain on your own, choosing your ski company can have a massive positive or negative effect on your confidence and overall experience. Don’t go as a gang with friends of very different ski levels. Divide into groups or go solo and decide a time and place to meet for a pit stop drink or lunch. Go with someone who is skiing a bit better than you and understands the slope map.
7. Choose comfortable slopes
Choose only the slopes that you are comfortable with. Don’t worry. Even blue slopes usually have some short sections of red-like terrain that could be a bit challenging at first but can help build confidence. Only when you are totally comfortable on these small red-like bits on a blue slope try the red one. And if you are not ready for the blue piste stick with a ski learning area. Let your ski fear be suppressed and build confidence small step at a time.
8. Start early in the morning
The early bird gets the worm – in ski language, it means you beat the crowds and get freshly groomed snow – white carpet. It is way easier to make turns and navigate on newly groomed snow before it turns to bums and ice later in the day. When there are fewer people, there is more space for doing big turns on steep slope parts, and it is less frightening as it is less likely to be hit by another skier.
9. Go slow
Accidents and injuries happen when you are out of control. You are out of control when you are too fast. Ski fear takes over when you lose control and stop believing you are in charge of the situation. Losing control can disrupt your ability to function normally. Go at a speed that you can control. In my opinion, it’s better to go slow using good techniques than to go down fast with shaking legs in a snow plug position.
10. Do plenty of stops
Do not forget to enjoy the scenery. Views from the top of the mountain are breathtaking. Stop often, enjoy the view, take deep breaths that calm your nervous system and let the cortisol and adrenalin to calm down. Do a photo or a video to remember this beautiful moment and refocus before continuing.
11. Do power pit stops
This is a very, very important one, too. After a dreadful or a successful ride or just in between do a power pit stop. Grab a drink that raises your mood – tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. You choose what works for you. Sometimes, it is all it takes to get some more courage and to suppress growing skiing fear. Sometimes, you only need to stop and let your muscles relax or simply use a bathroom. Don’t skip this part of skiing. I think it is the most fun part of it. It is a social part of skiing and little reward and encouragement. If you choose your pit stop place, well, you can get even to dance or sing there. That is one of the most fun parts of the skiing holiday.
12. Hide some just in case treats in your pockets
It’s against all psychologist’s advice not to connect sad or bad feelings with food. But when you are frozen from fear on the top of the mountain, there are a couple of options: just ski down in the fear, go down not skiing but doing small steps, and not ski until you reach the point that is comfortable to start skiing again (this was my usual tactics), take off skis and just walk down or cry and do one of the mentioned above (I did that too).
Back to the scenario when the fear takes over, I have been there many times. And I tried different options. The only thing that helps then is a cookie, candy, or chocolate. Even a loving and caring husband or a friend does not help. A secretly hidden small treat in your pocket might help to calm your nerves and give you secret powers to overcome your skiing fear.
13. Call it a day before the point of exhaustion
Do know when it is enough. During a ski lesson, more time is spent on listening to your instructor explaining techniques, showing turns, and exercise. This makes more time to rest in between active skiing intervals. That is why both morning and afternoon sessions during group lessons might be just the right amount of practice. But don’t try to push more and practice more on your own. Know your limits. Let your body and brain rest. When you go alone or with friends, consider calling it a day, even at lunchtime. Do as much as your body is comfortable with. Skiers are more likely to fall on the day’s final run because they’ve kept going beyond the point of exhaustion. Falling enhances your fear of skiing. Quit before your energy levels are drained.
14. Don’t try to squeeze the most of every day
Weather conditions change from day to day and given piste can be completely different in terms of surface and difficulty. The slope on a sunny and chilly day might look and feel different on a snowy, windy, and foggy day. Low visibility and icy, bumpy pistes with slushy and heavy snow make skiing hard and can dramatically knock down your confidence and exaggerate ski fear. Please be aware of that. Don’t try to make every day of your ski holiday a ski day. It’s better to skip challenging skiing condition days and avoid knocks to your confidence. These days are good for muscle recovery and can be used for sightseeing or chillax.
15. Consider other ways of enjoying mountains in winter
When your ski fear is too overwhelming and even the thought of skiing makes you anxious and panicky, even if you have tried all of the tips above, consider other ways to enjoy the winter holidays. Cross-country skiing, walking, or mountain photography could be your thing. In the end, you should enjoy it. Be at peace with yourself and find what works best for you.
Fear is one of the most powerful emotions. It has a powerful effect on your mind and body. You can avoid skiing as a fearful situation, or you can smartly expose yourself and face your ski fear with intelligent tactics that can be effective way. Maybe you will not overcome it, but at least tame it and enjoy the winter holiday.
♥ Aurora