Success!

A year ago, I skied for the first time in Colorado after years of skiing the small little hills in Western NY. I was terrified. The green circles were about the same difficulty as the black diamonds of my native ski hill.

I would classify myself as an intermediate skier, and I knew my skill level well enough to know that I could handle the terrain, but it made no difference. I couldn't get over the fear of standing at the top of a hill and looking down. I was so afraid I would crash or lose control that those paranoias filled my mind and made it very hard to enjoy myself.

This year I was afraid the same thing would happen. I like skiing! Why couldn't I just relax and have a good time?

After getting over some pretty bad altitude sickness I went out on the slopes.

I guess a year of working on this fear issue paid off. I started out easy, and as soon as I felt at all nervous I made sure I recognized how in control I felt, how easy the slope actually was, and how much fun it was. To my surprise, the fear dissolved. I was able to ski the beginner hills with out much effort at all, until altitude sickness kicked in again.

Today I went out for the second time, and it was awesome! I was out for about five hours, and never found myself too scared to ski a hill. Occasionally I would feel a little jolt of fear as I reached a steep incline, but I would remind myself that I had successfully skied equally difficult hills before without a problem. The fear dissolved and I continued down the hill, able to enjoy the incredible view, the excellent conditions, and how fun skiing is when you aren't afraid.

I skied mostly blue squares, and would have even tried a black diamond except they were all covered in moguls, which I really have no interest in skiing through.

I'm so glad that the stress is gone and I can enjoy myself fully. Also, I have a valuable tool to put to use when I next attempt to drive stick.