How to let go of the fear?

[ski diva]

I'm not scared of speed (my own) or steeps. What DOES scare me are other people, many of whom are skiing/boarding too fast, without control, and often unaware of the skiers' code. (I've far too often heard approaching skiers who hit or almost hit a downhill skier say "You got in my way"!) This to the point that I'm tending to limit my ski days to non-crowded ones. Non-holiday ones. Non-school-break ones. And days when I can get off the groomers. I'm glad I x-c ski and have other options.

^^This. I came inches of being taken out yesterday. The holiday crowds are beginning to build, and with them, people who haven't a clue of what they're doing. A young man who was totally out of control fell (behind me) and went careening down the hill, nearly knocking me down. I don't think I've ever had that near a miss. Very, very scary.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

^^This. I came inches of being taken out yesterday. The holiday crowds are beginning to build, and with them, people who haven't a clue of what they're doing. A young man who was totally out of control fell (behind me) and went careening down the hill, nearly knocking me down. I don't think I've ever had that near a miss. Very, very scary.

^^ This. There really is no letting go of this fear, because it has nothing to do with terrain or one's own ability.
Let the scary season begin...
I'm out.
Glad you're okay, @ski diva. Entanglements often end poorly.

 

[Serafina]

I'm not scared of speed (my own) or steeps. What DOES scare me are other people, many of whom are skiing/boarding too fast, without control, and often unaware of the skiers' code. (I've far too often heard approaching skiers who hit or almost hit a downhill skier say "You got in my way"!) This to the point that I'm tending to limit my ski days to non-crowded ones. Non-holiday ones. Non-school-break ones. And days when I can get off the groomers. I'm glad I x-c ski and have other options.

Amen on that. I was out on Wednesday and there were a shocking number of people out on the mountain with me - nearly all college students, recently released from their toils - who were equally shockingly lacking in skill and/or judgment. The surface was what I think of as New England Powder - a couple of inches of pulverized ice chips on a sheet of ice - so, challenging. Especially as the ice chips got skied into piles. I don't want to call the moguls, because they're movable and lacking in structure...more like dunes. And they're a heck of a lot slower than the sheets of ice that surround them. And the students were rocking the runs like it was wall-to-wall soft cord. Or "trying to rock them", rather. I saw more yard sales in two hours than I saw all season last year, due to these idiots overskiing the heck out of the conditions.

And on top of that, the Academy dumped a bunch of witless speed demons onto the hill too, so we had a collection of hormone-stoked teens and tweens treating the other skiers on the runs like slalom gates. At one point, I telegraphed a turn to drop in on a run, and one of these slalom-pole racing morons blasted past me at 40mph or so INSIDE MY TURN. Dummy wound up no more than three feet from me. If I'd turned a fraction of a second earlier, he'd have run right over me, and at the speeds he was going we'd have both been in very bad shape, if we survived the collision at all.

That's why I never ski with earbuds and music. I love the idea of it, but I need to be able to hear what's going on around me on the runs in order to take evasive action. It's also why I hit first chair, or close enough, on weekends, and bail out as soon as there gets to be much of a line for the lifts. I've got a season pass and all winter to use it. No sense in taking chances with avoidable dangers.

 

[Abbi]

^^This. I came inches of being taken out yesterday. The holiday crowds are beginning to build, and with them, people who haven't a clue of what they're doing. A young man who was totally out of control fell (behind me) and went careening down the hill, nearly knocking me down. I don't think I've ever had that near a miss. Very, very scary.

I’m glad you are OK! It was scarier yesterday. Although I heard from one of my older friends that he got knocked down about a week ago and whoever hit him took off! The guy is 81! I was livid as he was telling me!

 

[tinymoose]

^^This. I came inches of being taken out yesterday. The holiday crowds are beginning to build, and with them, people who haven't a clue of what they're doing. A young man who was totally out of control fell (behind me) and went careening down the hill, nearly knocking me down. I don't think I've ever had that near a miss. Very, very scary.

This is exactly how I got taken out years ago. Snowboarder, big guy, was going mach chicken behind me and fell, sliding on his back with his board in the air. His board hit me in the back and Mr. tinymoose said I just flew up into the air like a rag doll. I'm incredibly lucky I wasn't seriously injured.

 

[contesstant]

I just want to say this is a great thread with GREAT advice.
This coming from someone who has overcome panic attacks on steeps. I discovered this year that some of the stuff I used to panic on, I roll right on down like it's not even there anymore. It took me an entire season to get there (as in, 99 days on the snow!) I still freak out if it's steep AND crud or something I'm not as comfortable on.

And yes, the young men in particular scare the bejeezus out of me.

 

[SallyCat]

@SkiBam totally agree. I have noticed an increase in people yelling “On your right/left!” as they approach someone from behind. SO obnoxious and counter-productive.

 

[contesstant]

@SkiBam totally agree. I have noticed an increase in people yelling “On your right/left!” as they approach someone from behind. SO obnoxious and counter-productive.

Why? I so appreciate it when people let me know if they are going to pass me on one side or the other.

 

[SallyCat]

Why? I so appreciate it when people let me know if they are going to pass me on one side or the other.

Because it's not my job to stay out of your way if you're behind me. It's your job to pass me at a safe distance and in a reasonable manner; if you're doing that you don't need to alert me. Plus it's startling; do it to a novice skier and they are likely to turn their head to look and lose balance. And it often happens when stronger skiers are trying to speed through a novice area to get to the lift.

 

[santacruz skier]

Hmm it's very much appreciated when cycling.....don't think I've encountered it skiing though.

 

[SallyCat]

Hmm it's very much appreciated when cycling.....don't think I've encountered it skiing though.

Agreed. But cyclists travel a more linear path than skiers, and roadways force proximity.

 

[diymom]

Why? I so appreciate it when people let me know if they are going to pass me on one side or the other.

Because ijits like me hear "on your left" and somehow only "left" registers. Guess which way I turn? (Even if only for a fraction for a second before my brain kicks in and I correct myself. )
And you really can't assume that all adults know their right from their left. Or that they don't have earbuds in. Or that their hearing is 100% to start with.

 

[sibhusky]

Why? I so appreciate it when people let me know if they are going to pass me on one side or the other.

Me, too. It's not really necessary if I'm on ice, I hear you. But we mostly have soft, quiet, snow here and I've been sure I was alone, doing as I pleased, making any kind of turn I felt like and someone has "apparated" at my elbow. I would have been acting far more predictable if they had just coughed, clicked poles, said they were there. Being the only one on the trail is common here. I could easily be in my own little world and be a real hazard to anyone behind me just by deciding to completely stop because it was a nice view. If you say "Behind you" I'll make predictable turns until you pass. I can tell where you are without the right/left thing, but that's fine as well.

 

[SallyCat]

But we mostly have soft, quiet, snow here ...Being the only one on the trail is common here.

Ah, I sympathize with those difficult circumst...NO I DON'T.

 

[sibhusky]

If you ever visit my website, you'll see few skiers. It's not that I waited for them to clear. They actually add a bit of color pop to pictures, so I'd try to include them. But most of the pictures, the trails are empty. And I've become used to it.

 

[contesstant]

Because it's not my job to stay out of your way if you're behind me. It's your job to pass me at a safe distance and in a reasonable manner; if you're doing that you don't need to alert me. Plus it's startling; do it to a novice skier and they are likely to turn their head to look and lose balance. And it often happens when stronger skiers are trying to speed through a novice area to get to the lift.

I most appreciate it on a cat track, and to me it's just smart skiing if I'M the one passing. I am always grateful when someone lets me know they're there and which side they are going to pass me on. I can usually hear them coming behind me, and if I know which side they are planning to pass, I'll give a wider berth on that side.

You can never be too careful, or too heads up.

 

[Abbi]

If I'm on a narrow trail or cat track sort of place, I do say which side I will pass them. I get lots of 'thank you's and I always thank people for telling me. I'd rather have a clue where a passer will be rather than making a turn into their line. I ski slowly so I make turns and those behind can't always know that.

 

[MissySki]

I most appreciate it on a cat track, and to me it's just smart skiing if I'M the one passing. I am always grateful when someone lets me know they're there and which side they are going to pass me on. I can usually hear them coming behind me, and if I know which side they are planning to pass, I'll give a wider berth on that side.

You can never be too careful, or too heads up.

I agree, definitely on cat tracks. They are narrow, and I like if someone let's me know they are going to pass. I've done it myself as well. Sunday River has some really long cat tracks and you need to keep your speed up or you're going to be doing a lot of pole pushing. Sometimes that means passing people, and I swear in those instances someone can be going straight forever and then as soon as you think it's safe to pass they suddenly veer across the trail! I think it's safer to make noise or call out the side your passing on in those tighter situations.

 

[nopoleskier]

I'm another 'talker' I sometimes I just announce by saying 'beep beep' skating on flats, but usually it's on your left/right or the other left. Snowboarders I often say "on your back side" so they don't cut into me.. I also appreciate hearing some one say they're coming thru. I often ski the edge and having some one go by 'inside' is spooky and sometimes scary. Listening to 'in coming' is important!

 

[SallyCat]

I defer to the majority!

The few times anyone has given a verbal warning to me, it was because they were basically out of control and unable to pass me without me staying in a tight, anxious holding pattern while they flailed past.

Nevertheless, I shall set aside my Manual Typewriter of Righteous Indignation and accept verbal alerts as a necessary intrusion into my ski zen.

I miss the zen, though. I mean, the Vail Corporation has brutally stricken the Chicken and Waffles entree from my favorite slopeside restaurant, so I'm dealing with a lot of food-related grief. An institution that could make a decision like that is capable of anything.

People talking to me while I ski....having to eat some b.s. salad instead of amazing food....these are dark days on the mountain.