Ashley Fischer, team leader of Women's Turn at Vermont's Sugarbush Resort, sees every kind of fear imaginable expressed by hundreds of women who participate in the clinic each season. Here is an example of how her staff helps alleviate fear in women skiers. (With help from Nancy Luke, psychiatrist Patricia Simmons, and psychologists Barbara Kester and Peggy Sax.)

It is important to understand the difference between appropriate fear and inappropriate fear. Fear can be appropriate when it gives us proper respect for the task at hand and protects us from doing something dangerous. Fear can also be disproportionate and interfere with performance. It can paralyze us or drive us away from a situation that might have been quite safe, even fun.

A novice skier may be afraid of speed. An advanced skier may be just as afraid of bumps. Adverse conditions scare some. Terrain may scare others. Some are afraid of winds, some of heights, some of powder. Almost everyone is afraid of being hurt. We have yet to meet a woman who is unafraid of losing control.

Click here to read all of this article from Claudia Carbone's book "WomenSKI". Thanks to Ashley and Claudia for permission to reprint the article.
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Mermer Blakeslee, former PSIA Demo Team member, has written a book entitled In the Yikes! Zone : A Conversation With Fear. This is for anyone who has ever stood at the top of a literal or figurative slope and contemplated taking the big plunge.

Mermer will be present at one of the Women’s camps at Snowbird (Utah).
See the Snowbird resort page for more information.

Synopsis
In this one-of-a-kind book, Mermer Blakeslee shares the proven techniques that have earned her international recognition as an expert on fear management.

As Mermer Blakeslee points out in her introduction, fear "resonates far, spreads widely across many boundaries, sinks to the lowest levels, and grows big very quickly." In this compelling meditation on fear, Blakeslee uses skiing as a metaphor to introduce us to what she calls our "nags and guides." Knowing when and why we should heed-or silence-these competing inner voices, can help us expand our areas of comfort as we strategically move into and out of our personal YIKES! Zone. And she encourages us fearlessly engage our fear in dialogue, demonstrating how we can make the subtle and not so subtle adjustments necessary to lead the life we desire.

With her reassuring, non-confrontational approach, Blakeslee shows how the mind, body, and spirit can work together to foster trust and positive action. Much more than a self-help manual or a guide to skiing, In the Yikes Zone is a provocative, accessible book that will help us to revitalize our lives and use the power of surrender to exist fully in the moment. In the Yikes Zone is for anyone who has ever stood at the top of a literal or figurative slope and contemplated taking the big plunge.

Read A Note to the Reader from Mermer Blakeslee's book. Thanks to Mermer and Dutton Publicity for permission to reproduce this excerpt.
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For more information, visit YikesZone.com.