I agree with
@liquidfeet and her approach as I teach the same concepts.
A big mountain expedition skier that is a guest coach for our women's camps admitted to us that when she climbs a new mountain and skis a line for the first time she often starts in a wedge/stem step, as mentioned above. It gives her that extra little bit of stability and a slower entry.
I think all of us, or at least I hope, trust that we have what it takes to ski a black run when we ski to it. What we never know is how the conditions will be. This can add or subtract levels of difficulty to any run. By starting a little slower, be it a stem step or side slip we get those extra seconds to assess the snow quality.
As liquid feet also mentions that pole plant is key. By reaching with the hand, arm, and essentially body, we help release our skis, which is the at times almost impossible commitment move to start that first turn. If the body is not over the skis, we will start off a little behind the ball (center of the ski) and end up never quite on our game.
I like having a mantra for what happens as soon as I engage in that first turn. Tommy Moe used to tell himself, keep the hands forward, I have a number of words or sensations I focus on. While being confident is great, I would caution against too much aggression on that first turn, in the event that you have to shut things down and slow down right away. As we know from driving on ice, it is hard to slow down once we are going too fast, so a moderate speed is best. Unless of course a person is in the starting gates....
I have only once experienced true fear. It was a steep backcountry line, my first time on it, and I could not see what was below, including the cliff band to be skied around. My colleagues and the head guide for the ski area were all eyes on me. For certain the negative self talk was the worst part. Once I started moving, I kept reminding myself that I know how to do this, I know how to do this. Once I could see around the hump, after the first two turns, I was able to enjoy the process. Pleasure and challenging terrain don't always happen on the first turn,