I love skiing but am deathly afraid of it?

I love skiing so much but I am constantly terrified of being run over or tumbling downhill and such. A ski trip is coming up and I’d love to participate but I’m so scared…any tips on getting over my fear?

Falling is something to be expected. The important thing to do when your feel like you are going to fall is to just let it happen. When you tense up and try to fight it, that’s when you usually end up hurting yourself more. Stick to the green and blue slopes if you feel uneasy. If you fall on easier terrain, you’ll very likely not slide too far down the hill, and the trails are generally wider, so ending up in the woods is something that isn’t going to happen either.

The best thing you can do is take a lesson and learn the basics. Wearing a helmet is a good idea too. Take things slowly at first and only ski the runs you are comfortable on. Things will be fine and you’ll have a good time. Expect to fall, so bring some extra gloves and wear warm clothing that is waterproof or dries quickly.

I wouldn’t spend time worrying about fatal accidents. On-resort fatal accidents normally occur on steep, expert terrain. Unfortunately, these deaths are usually the result of excessive speed resulting in a loss of control that leads to blunt force trauma, C-spine, and internal injuries. Serious injuries are up over the past few years due to growing amount of freestyle terrain available at ski areas. Here we are seeing head/neck injuries, especially concussions. Wrist injuries, lower back, and shoulder injuries are on the rise, especially among snowboarders, while ACL, MCL, and Meniscus have rose gradually since 1998 with skiers. Ankle and lower leg injuries among skiers are now very uncommon due to stiffer and higher ski boots.

Good Luck, Stay Safe, Have Fun!!!

Statistics don’t lie…

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