Maybe some of you remember that I took my 46 year old friend to a "Free Lesson, Rentals, and Lower Mountain Lift Ticket" day at Okemo a few years ago. She went from Never-Ever to completely comfortable on the Green runs on her first day. She made the most beautiful rounded, parallel turns almost immediately. She just had a sense of her edges. She also has an amazing sense of balance and almost never falls. I was astounded at her progress.
After her second lesson, she transitioned to intermediate runs with confidence, as long as she didn't stay in the fall line too long. She had a bit of angst if she picked up speed. Within 5 days, she was tentative but in control on some black runs. She even did a double-black at Killington in 3 months. I'm convinced that her success was due to the perfect, rounded turns based on her edging, hands downhill, weight-forward stance.
Spring forward to today. She is still making those same perfectly edged, rounded turns, but can't get comfortable with the concept of going into the fall line. Only one time in some new, deeper snow, she pointed her skis downhill and carved her way down the mountain. It was a breakthrough for her, but in typical Northeast conditions, she reverts to those rounded turns.
She has taken lessons since then, but I think her fear of speed relates to her fear of heights and she retreats into her safe method of speed control. She is perfectly happy to continue to ski in her rounded turn comfort zone.