# Fear of speed, how to overcome it



## JeffDahMoose776 (Feb 6, 2018)

when I was starting out snowboarding I was afraid of going too fast, but as my skills progressed i became more comfortable with my board. Gradually I stopped being scared of going too fast, because I was confident in my ability to stop. The only real advice I can give is to watch some YouTube videos and practice riding on the hill. It’s a great sport and I Hope you don’t let your fears get to you.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Thanks @JeffDahMoose776 for your suggestion. However, I am stuck the other way around: I cannot progress due to fear. It's annoying and frustrating. And I am stubborn.
For sure I am already plan for next season to go snowboarding as much as I can and I am planning to take lessons as well since I have to get my (little) skills back after 7/8 years of stop.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Maya said:


> I realized that I don't have fear of speed in itself, well at least until it remains reasonable (mind that I am a blue piste girl for now). What I fear more is losing control and hurting myself or -worse- others in that.


You have actually already answered your question . It's not the speed itself, it's the lack of confidence which prevents you from going faster. 

And that could have two sources: a) you lack confidence because your skills aren't there yet, and then it's a very good thing you're not bombing. There are too many out of control ppl on slopes anyway. So just take your time and continue to progress. Or b) you would have the skills but are just timid. In that case, just take your time... it's not a race .

Gaining confidence is mostly about having edge control and balance in any situation to me. You can exercise this on blues perfectly by playing around with your boards edge, do small carves, fast carves, fast edge to edge transitions, then do sloooow wiiide carves, change all the time. To a wide heelside carve and grab the edge between your toes and try to balance on that heel edge as long as possible, learn to feel the sidecut and keep the balance. If carves are not your thing yet, start with doing turns exactly where you imagine to do them. Look down the slope and focus on a bump or patch where you want to turn, and turn there. Imagine that there's a narrow corridor on your slope and you have to stay within that imaginary boundary. Once succeeded, make it more narrow. Rinse repeat. That's a great exercise to gain confidence in one's ability to ride narrow at tracks with lots of other people, as you've exercised it in the freedom of a wide empty groomer and know you can do such tight turns in control. 

For independent upper body it's a good exercise to to straight on a mild pitch slope, then go down very low in your knees, squat, jump up, squat again, rins repeat. Standstraight, turn you upper body looking backwards but keep the board going straight... swing your arms, turn your head all while your feet should still keep your board going straight. Be a clown, mock around . Do this a lot of times... it will loosen your body AND give your muscles independency. Your upper body and lower body should be two independent parts. One day your feet will "feel" the board and steer it without you even think about it. This will ramp up your confidence.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

First, recognize that there are some conditions in which it is okay to be concerned. Icy hardpack is not the environment in which to practice your flat-based straight-lining. So if conditions are crap, give yourself a break and practice low-speed techniques on gentler slopes without guilt.

I have a natural fear of too much speed as well, possibly because my imagination is too vivid. But what I've found works for me is this: pick a run that freaks you out, but not _too _much. It has to be an attainable goal. Pick a spot toward the bottom of the steep part where you feel comfortable speeding up. Go slow up to that point, then cut loose. Over the course of several runs, gradually move that point up the slope. Gradual desensitization combined with getting used to the run just from repetition will allow you to push your speed up. But again, only in good conditions. And make sure your form is good. Going fast out of control is not something to be proud of.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

Oh... and by the way... here's the mantra: "ride lower, and get out of the backseat"

Both are essential for progress. Everyone starts riding with too straight legs. Even if you THINK your knees are bent, they probably aren't enough... And leaning ones weight on the back foot is the devil per se. It's a natural reaction if one has fear of falls, but it's contra productive. Weight on hind leg WILL lead to falls, as you rob yourself any chance to steer quickly. So... exercise riding real low with equal distributed weight, or even exaggerate it and lean on your front foot.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

You don't say how slow is slow and fast is fast, but honestly I don't understand a lot of peoples obsession with speed. Going fast doesn't mean you are super good. At 50 my 16 year old blows past me now and I don't really care. When I go fast all I can think of is medical bills so I'm perfectly happy maxing out at 35-40mph(60kph).

What makes you feel you need to go faster? Just to keep up with your friends? Or are we talking like really really slow? If you consider yourself an intermediate rider I say just ride more, the speed will gradually come. Don't get peer pressured by people waiting at the bottom.


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## DaveMcI (Aug 19, 2013)

Alcohol


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

I agree with gaining confidence at speed through skills. Learning how to stop on a dime gave me a lot more confidence at speed. The move is called the hockey stop, or slasher bombs. 

The hockey stop is a counter-rotated stopping motion that stops you very quickly. It's important to be able to put on the brakes when you're bombing. The hockey stop is like slamming on your brakes on the highway. It's important to know how to do it, but it can be dangerous if people rear end you. Always check the rearview. Once you know how to do it, you can apply braking force less drastically. 

If you can hockey stop, doing it a little bit here and there really lets you shed speed. The move is called speed checking. You see it a lot in the park as riders approach features and rudder their back foot around to slow down a bit. They usually keep the move pretty casual, but they get more aggressive with the speed checks when they're coming in too hot. Tree riding can involve a lot of speed checking as well. 

Definitely look where you're trying to go instead of down at your feet. You need to look at the line you want to take. Looking anywhere else is disaster. That's really an all the time thing, not just for going fast. Don't let fear control your eyes. You'll naturally go where you're looking- use that to your advantage. If you're staring at a tree fearing you're going to hit it, chances are you're going to hit it. Don't look at the children! Look at your line choice.


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## SEWiShred (Jan 19, 2019)

A lot of snowboarding revolves around how good your balance, form, and ability to read and react to the board is. It doesn't matter if you're jumping, jibbing, euro-carving, charging, or just flat basing. Everything is a test of your ability to control your body and your board. 

There was a time for all of us that simply going 5mph felt fast for us. Eventually we worked up to 10, 15, 20, even comfortable at almost 40mph for me now. Going fast is a matter of improving, if you don't feel comfortable at whatever speed you're going, it's because you have issues to work out with your form, balance, and board control. 

The faster you go, the less time you have to react to bad terrain, ice, or your form being bad. Going fast is simply a test of your skills. Yes, you can bomb it with horrible form, but when you have problems, you will crash. You are smart, you are realizing there are places you need to improve, so you aren't just blindly going faster. 

Whatever speed you are somewhat comfortable at, just keep riding at that speed and focusing on your form and really concentrating on your riding. Eventually that speed you are enjoying and feeling comfortable with will feel boring and slow and you'll want to go faster. Eventually you will reach your limit where your body and reaction time can't handle any more and it will always been fun to go that speed. 

There is no magic solution. But you are skilled enough to realize that something doesn't feel right when you are going that fast. People with no skill just go very fast because it feels fun but they don't realize something is wrong with what they are doing. You can overcome it by improving your speed. It's a good thing you are nervous about it, because you are noticing something isn't right with your riding and you're realizing you shouldn't be going faster. But you aren't realizing what you need to improve before you step up.


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## MrDavey2Shoes (Mar 5, 2018)

There is only one way and you know it already


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## ridethecliche (Feb 27, 2019)

Sounds like you have a healthy respect for speed which is significantly better than the average beginner snowboarder who wants to just bomb down everything without knowing how to stop.

Speed is relative. Comfort increased as you improve. As your technique starts to get better, you'll likely get faster without even really noticing.


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## Crusty (Nov 8, 2018)

MrDavey2Shoes said:


> There is only one way and you know it already


A combination of diet, meditation, and veterinary strength muscle relaxants?


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## MrDavey2Shoes (Mar 5, 2018)

Crusty said:


> A combination of diet, meditation, and veterinary strength muscle relaxants?


It has been written.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Wow so many comments, thanks. I will think about them.

For the moment, I like to know that I am not the only one that has fear. I have a lot of friends that ski very well since they are 3 yo and they seem never afraid of anything. Riding with them around a resort, as I always did in the past, makes me feel I am the only one with such big fears.
None of my friend has ever pushed me to do stupid things, but I always see them very relaxed in their skis and this has contributed to a general feeling of 'snowboarding is not for me'.
But as I said, I am stubborn, so I want to win this battle, if not the while war.

Unfortunately, I don't drink any alcoholic, so this easy path Is not for me 
I know, I am boring.


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## boisell (Feb 14, 2016)

Maya said:


> I admit I have fear of speed. This is what has always stopped my progress with snowboard. I am so annoyed with myself and I want to get serious in overcoming it. At least partially.
> 
> I did some reading and I found two things that can help. First one is visualizing positive outcome of what I am going to do. Sound pretty stupid, doesn't it? Well it wasn't so obvious to me, as I am constantly thinking to "I will crash onto someone, I will fell hardly, I will kill that little boy, etc". This cursed year I was not able to do much on the slopes, but I tried this technique and it seems to give me some improvements.
> Other big, big point is that I always look down instead than where I am going. And looking at the ground, speed becomes much more real than looking where I have to go. And honestly, looking at wonderful mountains around me is much more enjoyable than looking the snow close to my feet.
> ...


I actually had this discussion with my son this weekend and one thing that can help is pointing it, picking up speed until you start being a bit afraid and then counting to 3 or 5 or whatever you're comfortable with and then hitting the brakes. Try increasing the number as you go. Everyone hits plateaus like this as they progress (it never stops, I'm currently working my way into down rails) so if you can get your brain to concentrate on something else instead of the fear, it can help break through. But if you don't confront the fear in some way, it'll always be there.


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## Eivind så klart (Aug 30, 2020)

Not to be an asshole here, but..
Have you ever fallen at high speed? It's not that bad, doesn't even hurt. You just slide. Unless you catch an edge and go down head first or crash into something that doesn't move. Shit happens no matter what you are doing so do something fun.

Here is my point to this, don't think too much! Snowboard is all about having fun, the only contest in all of this is having the most fun. People worry way too much about style, doing it the "right" way and what others think. The winner is the one who looks like a idiot. Singing, laughing and screaming all the way down just because that person is happy and stoked. If you don't feel like going fast, don't go fast. If you want to go faster, then go faster! You could die from walking down the stairs in your home or crossing the street, take a chance and accept the outcome.


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## foe (Feb 10, 2017)

Eivind så klart said:


> Here is my point to this, don't think too much! Snowboard is all about having fun, the only contest in all of this is having the most fun. People worry way too much about style, doing it the "right" way and what others think.





Eivind så klart said:


> If you don't feel like going fast, don't go fast. If you want to go faster, then go faster!


^This!
It’s natural to have some fear of speed (and it can feel frustrating when other people seem to be unaffected by it!).
As your skill and balance improve you will naturally get faster so in the meantime don’t worry about speed. Try not to overthink the skill and balance part either! As @Eivind så klart says go out and have fun.
Sure, get lessons*, watch YouTube tutorials**, read every thread on here etc. but then go out and play around with the things you learn. Instead of beating yourself up about executing the techniques perfectly, focus on how they feel: what happens if you add more pressure, less pressure, exaggerate the movement, make less movement? Etc etc. Getting things wrong is learning too. Make enjoying the feeling of making turns in the snow your objective. 

I highly recommend the book “Inner Skiing” by Timothy Gallwey and Robert Kriegel. Don’t be put off by the fact it is about skiing. It is mainly about the mental aspects such as the different ways in which we learn and about identifying healthy fears vs unnecessary fears etc. I think there is enough overlap to apply it to snowboarding.


*I’ve been snowboarding about 9 years and still get a few hours with an instructor every season and highly recommend it. Always get something out of it, even if sometimes it is much later when it ‘clicks’

**i really rate Malcolm Moore on YouTube


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

Repetition is what conquers fear. There is no way around that.

The people skiing since they were 3 have learned not to be afraid because they've been successful at not getting hurt so many times.

I do think you should have fun first, and if going fast isn't fun, then meh. That said, being _able_ to go fast and choosing not to is different than not being able to ride fast if you have to, and I'd encourage anyone to at least develop that skill.

My top recorded speed on a snowboard is 65mph. I know I've gone faster than that. When I went faster (by mistake), I was scared out of my mind - not from the speed - but from the idea that if there were someone on the other side of the next roller I'd have trouble avoiding them. I could easily control myself at that speed, but I couldn't quickly slow down or stop (nobody can at that speed.) I regularly ride between 40 and 50mph when the groomers aren't crowded with no fear problem at all. Even 65 mph is not scary and a _ton_ of fun if you have good visibility and know you have enough runout to slow down.

I used to be afraid to go fast like that, especially on tracked out or bumpy terrain. What I did to overcome that was find a steep tracked-out blue run, ride cautiously until nearly the bottom of it, then point my board and go. So like, ten feet up from the bottom, just tuck, keep your knees loose and bent, flat base and go for it. Worst case you fall a bit going slightly fast. Do that over and over again until it's not a big deal. Then _gradually_ start to increase the height where you start. 12, 15, 20 feet. Get comfortable at each one of those points by doing it over and over. Pretty soon 40mph will feel like nothing to you. That's a great place to be, because at most resorts there aren't many runs you can top 45mph at all even if you're trying.

Finally, I have a buddy that loves to bomb down runs as fast as he can. He's pretty good at it, but he bails regularly because he is relying on the terrain to be smooth enough where he doesn't get bucked around rather than slowing down and carving around it. So don't get so hung up on speed that you neglect to develop other skills too. They're complementary - being comfortable at speed will help you be able to control yourself at speed, having good control will help you feel comfortable going faster.


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

Oh, and yes to the irrational fear of speed and getting hurt. I've had three or four really bad falls while snowboarding that hurt a _lot_, and they were all going slow on flat runs. I've fallen a lot going fast and off of jumps, no big deal, no injuries there. 

Based on experience, I _should_ be afraid of going at slow to moderate speeds on green runs, but large jumps still scare me the most even though I know I'm more than capable of landing them.

But again, this season I've been lapping the jump line over and over again and it's much less scary now.


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

This will be tough to address without riding with someone who knows how to teach and plan around your specific limits and psychology.

One of the things I've learned in the past few years is that people are just built very differently. Intellectually I always knew this was true, but I didn't truly understand this until I spent the bulk of the past 5 years hanging around my then-girlfriend/now-wife and just became very intimately aware of how she processes the world.

I am naturally built with low fear. Alex Honnold went through a CT scanner in Free Solo and a neuroscientist found that his amygdala (basically fear center of the brain) was way underreactive compared to even other rock climbers. I'm not nearly THAT fearless, but I expect my amygdala's similarly underreactive. I can definitely maintain reasonable poise and not be too affected by stressful circumstances.

I also have strong natural awareness of where I sit in space, where other people sit in space, and where they'll most likely be in a few seconds relative to me. I also have good intuitive understanding of how to fall safely andmore importantly how NOT to fall.

My wife is completely different, she is naturally fearful to the point of paralyzing irrationality, and doesn't seem to get better with additional exposure. She also has GARBAGE understanding of where she sits in space and how to most efficiently move through an environment with a lot of moving parts. I've seen people give her death stares because she is completely oblivious to cutting folks off on sidewalks. She also does exactly the wrong fucking shit when she falls, namely extending her arms and trying to catch herself with her hands.

What works for me will not remotely work for her. For me, I just sucked up it up and took my lumps, and can comfortably drop steep shit and stay in control at 50+ mph on my snowboard. I know how to read crowds, so I know when I can open up the throttle and when I need to dial it back. And if I eat it, I know how to slide out / roll through the fall safely. Sure familiarity and repetition bred confidence, but no one taught me how to process stimuli input and intuitively navigate crowded environments-- I just know how to do it.

For her, she just stays within her comfort zone and will probably never exceed 25 mph. And frankly she shouldn't go faster than 25 mph, because she has no fucking idea where she is relative to others, how to predict what others are doing, or how to self arrest safely if she falls. And all of that is simply a function of personality and cognition.


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## Craig64 (Jul 16, 2015)

My biggest concern is people crashing into me.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

drblast said:


> Oh, and yes to the irrational fear of speed and getting hurt. I've had three or four really bad falls while snowboarding that hurt a _lot_, and they were all going slow on flat runs. I've fallen a lot going fast and off of jumps, no big deal, no injuries there.
> 
> Based on experience, I _should_ be afraid of going at slow to moderate speeds on green runs, but large jumps still scare me the most even though I know I'm more than capable of landing them.


Two of the hardest falls I've ever had were heel-edge catches at moderate speed, doing nothing in particular.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

kimchijajonshim said:


> My wife is completely different, she is naturally fearful to the point of paralyzing irrationality, and doesn't seem to get better with additional exposure. She also has GARBAGE understanding of where she sits in space and how to most efficiently move through an environment with a lot of moving parts. I've seen people give her death stares because she is completely oblivious to cutting folks off on sidewalks. She also does exactly the wrong fucking shit when she falls, namely reaching out with her hands to catch herself.


My wife isn't quite at that level, but when I was first helping her learn to ski, we set up on a very, very gentle slope and I got her sliding. She was practically screaming in fear as she went down the slope with me _walking_ beside her.

She now does bunnies and gentle greens at a reasonable speed, and has no desire whatsoever to see the inside of a blue. To each their own.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

Craig64 said:


> My biggest concern is people crashing into me.


+1! I dress in obnoxiously bright colors to try to avid that as much as possible. It's scary.


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## Sanosaka39 (Aug 11, 2020)

Try getting comfortable riding on edges at low speed before moving onto riding at highspeed. For me, I've never had fear of speeding down a slope, but I guess one of the main thing that would scare me to do so is catching my edges, riding on edges prevents you from catching edges and allows you to be more stable during highspeed. Another thing that would make riding at highspeed less scary is bending your legs, as already said before, this would allow you to go over bumpy areas easily and decrease the chance of falling. 

I hope you can overcome this challenge and have fun snowboarding!


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Many excellent things have been noted. A bit of woo...you are falling...or better...flowing gravity. Fear is recoiling from gravity...mainly not understanding the natural flow of gravity. To understand the natural flow of gravity you need to be able to visualize it, anticipate where and how it flows and what it flows around. Thus learning to see/read the terrain and choose the line(s) to flow will help you become aware of where your body needs to be to make the best of the flow. Rinse and repeat a challenging run so that you can learn to see, understand and eventually feel the flow. You will learn to anchor your chi to various spots/places of the gravity terrain and then let your chi and gravity pull you there. Your body will know what to do to get you there without thinking or conceptualizing it (thinking is too slow). The fun is where you have the knowledge, strategy and skills to execute leaning into or stepping into the flow of gravity...it becomes effortless and a seemingly endless moment.

Btw flow doesn't matter the pitch of the slope nor the speed. You also got to understand speed is in a relationship to your edges...if your edges are parallel (or at least within 45 degrees of the fall line) with the flow of gravity, there are no edges to catch and if your weight is a tad on the nose or neutral your board will flow gravity.

Flow state is beyond fear...but you must first go through fear, understand fear (fear is a reasonable teacher) and make fear your ally. But death is a great teacher....bwahahaahaaa! lol


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Let me do some comments. I'll do it FIFO.


neni said:


> And that could have two sources: a) you lack confidence because your skills aren't there yet, and then it's a very good thing you're not bombing. There are too many out of control ppl on slopes anyway. So just take your time and continue to progress. Or b) you would have the skills but are just timid. In that case, just take your time... it's not a race .


I think I definitely lack a lot of skills, but honestly I never went anywhere close of hitting me or others that bad. So I guess this is irrationally fueled by thinking to the worse. 
Fear is bad for progressing for two reasons. First, I get tired very quickly and so I cannot add the hours of snowboarding I really need and unfortunately when I maange to get to the slopes, I need to use every single minute for riding, as there are no second choices. Second, if I am constantly breaking, I cannot do what I need to do. 

Mind that when I watched some videos of me riding I was like "do I go so slow?". During actual riding I thought I was going so fast!

I think that as neni suggests, the way to go is doing exercises on the slopes. Incremental exercises are the best, as @Donutz has proposed . I have more or less 8 months to set up my plan.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

neni said:


> Oh... and by the way... here's the mantra: "ride lower, and get out of the backseat"


I'll do it for sure! After watching creepy basement video, I think I understood how to avoid the backseat.
Btw, why do you all call it creepy basement video?

About weight on back foot, I am definitely guilty. I think this is exactly what does not allow me to be reasonably good at riding one foot. So I stressed so much to put weight on front foot so much.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Maya said:


> I'll do it for sure! After watching creepy basement video, I think I understood how to avoid the backseat.
> 
> Btw, why do you all call it creepy basement video?


Idk...I like my basement...want to come play in it?


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Idk...I like my basement...want to come play in it?


Only if you promise to teach me how to snowboard, how to properly fall, and how to avoid fear of speed


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Maya said:


> Only if you promise to teach me how to snowboard, how to properly fall, and how to avoid fear of speed


That's easy: 
Falling...grab your self...become a compacted meat ball...hit with the biggest body part...and bounce or slide....don't splat.

Snowboard...focus:
1. weight on the nose, 
2. humping toeside (pelvic tilt...the creepy),
3. dumping heelside,
4. SQUAT/bend the knees,
5. Keep inside the cereal box.

Fear is one side of the coin...love is the other side. Speed is your friend.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

kimchijajonshim said:


> My wife is completely different, she is naturally fearful to the point of paralyzing irrationality, and doesn't seem to get better with additional exposure.


I was thinking to be like this myself. This would be the worst case scenario but I want to believe is not like this.

As per your example, I do know where people are standing, where should I be to avoid bumping into others. A signal that something is wrong in me is when I accidentaly bump myself into stuff or people. But it does not happen frequently.
On the other side, I use my e-bike to 25kmh into the city traffic: it was scaring at the beginning, so close to cars, etc, but now it is pretty much routine. Also I sailed a little on skiffs, example picture as my english skills are failing me. 
So I guess that I can overcome fear of snowboarding on blue pistes. 
I know I will never be an adrenaline addicted, I don't have an extreme target to achieve: I want only to have fun in easy (and maybe medium) slopes. But now, fear is preventing this.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

boisell said:


> I actually had this discussion with my son this weekend and one thing that can help is pointing it, picking up speed until you start being a bit afraid and then counting to 3 or 5 or whatever you're comfortable with and then hitting the brakes. Try increasing the number as you go.


This is another exercise to try. I did something similar in the pastm but your suggestion is much more interesting.


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## SEWiShred (Jan 19, 2019)

Maya said:


> I was thinking to be like this myself. This would be the worst case scenario but I want to believe is not like this.
> 
> As per your example, I do know where people are standing, where should I be to avoid bumping into others. A signal that something is wrong in me is when I accidentaly bump myself into stuff or people. But it does not happen frequently.
> On the other side, I use my e-bike to 25kmh into the city traffic: it was scaring at the beginning, so close to cars, etc, but now it is pretty much routine. Also I sailed a little on skiffs, example picture as my english skills are failing me.
> ...


You can face your fears and get better at them over time. I used to be scared of heights pretty good when I was younger. I went to the mountains one year with some friends, made myself stand on the edge of a huge cliff until I felt comfortable and realized it wasn't that scary. I used to be worried about things like ladders only 10 feet tall. Now I go over scary lifts out West, climb ladders, etc. I think @*kimchijajonshim *is very right about psychology, some people are more fearful of things than others. It's not a bad thing. But getting used to going fast on things in the summer will also help you. If you are having speed issues on things other than the snowboard you should get used to those over summer to prepare for the winter.


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## Aracan (Nov 24, 2017)

Maya said:


> For the moment, I like to know that I am not the only one that has fear. I have a lot of friends that ski very well since they are 3 yo and they seem never afraid of anything.


Speed on skis and speed on a snowboard are two very different things. I started skiing when I was about 2, and I trust I can still get down any mountain pretty quickly without exerting myself too much. On my snowboard I am usually one of the slowest persons around if you measure the time I take to the bottom. That's because I strive for the biggest possible detour, the wide arcs. Those don't necessarily mean speeding.
I remember a day when my kid was small, maybe 5 yo. She on her skis, me on the board. She just plain forgot to stop occasionally and bombed down the mountain like kids will. It took everything I had to keep up with her, because hardpack under your skis and hardpack under your board are also two very different things.
Oh yeah, and I doubt speed helps progress. It's usually the other way round.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

It's easier to get better when riding easy trails hard. Riding hard trails easy teaches you very little. If you're going fast, make sure it's on a slope that's not too intimidating.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

Fear of speed is, imo, symptomatic of something missing in your technique. I'd suggest not even thinking about speed--just back way up and spend a few days refining your technique, and trust that speed will come later.

Notice when you feel the fear of speed. Is it on steep stuff? Bumpy stuff? In crowded areas? Ice? Those could all point to different holes in technique. The fear is your brain telling you, "I lack control in these circumstances so please slow down." For me it was uneven or bumpy terrain. Once I cleaned up my technique enough where bumpy stuff was no longer challenging, a lot of my fear of speed went away. 

For beginner-ish riders, I think one of the most common areas is edge control. You simply won't feel comfortable at speed if you haven't figured that out yet.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

MCrides said:


> Notice when you feel the fear of speed. Is it on steep stuff? Bumpy stuff? In crowded areas? Ice?


Steep and ice are the most scary. Bumpy are a little scary, but mainly because I am not used to them. I feel that it is just a matter of trying more. 
Crowded areas are more annoying than scaring, because majority of the time I can just wait to get some space for me. I have no urge of riding too close to people. I just need to better guess the radius of my curve so that I can know when there is enough space.
Also I am scared in narrow paths, where you have the mountain on one side and a (not skiable) slope on the other. Usually, those parts are crowded so it is difficult x2. 

Ah narrowing down what is actually scaring seems useful to build confidence as it means accepting it without being overwhelmed.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

And btw thanks for letting me rant about snowboard without too much judgment.

... too cheesy for this forum?


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

Yeah again, I wouldn't think about this in terms of building confidence with speed itself. It's not that you have the skills necessary to snowboard fast, but just can't get over an irrational fear. It's that you lack the skills required to snowboard fast; the fear is completely rational. Focus on filling your skill gaps, and trust that when you fill those gaps, confidence at speed will follow.

Quotes below make me lean towards edge control as a likely culprit, especially the bit about narrow paths. But snowboarding is hyper-technical so it's probably a few things all coming together. Best advice would be to take a lesson to figure out what needs cleaning up.



Maya said:


> Steep and ice are the most scary.
> 
> I just need to better guess the radius of my curve so that I can know when there is enough space.
> 
> Also I am scared in narrow paths, where you have the mountain on one side and a (not skiable) slope on the other. Usually, those parts are crowded so it is difficult x2.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Lessons are on their way. I am already putting away money for that purpose. I need to understand how I can find a good ski\snowboard school with good teachers (only meaningful way to get lessons here). Since I am very far from snowboarder stereotype, I had bad experience with instructors.

I guess I can find videos on edge control.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

Maya said:


> Since I am very far from snowboarder stereotype, I had bad experience with instructors.


What does that mean?



Maya said:


> I guess I can find videos on edge control.


Are you skidding from edge to edge, or do you sometimes tilt the board and ride along the edge instead? Can you ride "straight" easily, or do you struggle to feel in control unless your board is sideways relative to the fall line?


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## drblast (Feb 28, 2017)

MCrides said:


> What does that mean?


Probably that previous lessons were a lot like the ones in South Park and the stoner snowboard instructor is not that good at helping the adult woman out with constructive advice that's meaningful to her? "Take lessons" is good advice when good instructors are available, but many times if you're not one of the cool kids they don't know how to relate to you or communicate effectively. My wife wasted a bunch of time and money in group lessons that way and came away from them thinking she'd never be able to snowboard.

Reading between the lines, it sounds like speed isn't a problem at all and basic riding mechanics are. That was a big problem for my wife at first - she wasn't turning correctly and thought that the problem was she was just afraid/didn't want to go fast. If you'd tell her what she was doing wrong, she'd say "I'm doing that; I don't need to go that fast. I'm fine." To her, she thought that everyone was frustrated with her slow speed and was trying to get her to speed up by doing unsafe things. But mostly you'd watch her and cringe because she was stiff-legged and on the verge of catching an edge quite often. After she got better, she got a lot faster.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Reading this it sounds like you have a lack in confidence in your own skills. And that could be justified. You seem to be more afraid of not being able to get out of a situation than the danger of speed itself. I suspect you get really nervous on cat trails that are crowded where you may need to swerve around people or when you see a giant snake of kids in a ski class coming where you aren't sure you are able to get out of their way when they decide to change course for no good reason at all.

I'm not real sure how to explain what I mean, at some level you want to be able to throw your board around to make it do what you want it to do as opposed to having it and its speed take you on a ride where it wants to naturally go. This lets you muscle your way and control stick situations. No idea if that makes any sense.

Experience and practice is what this needs. You need to get to a point where throwing the board around isn't as cumbersome. Can you do 180 bunny hops on your board?

Or I'm totally wrong


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

drblast said:


> Probably that previous lessons were a lot like the ones in South Park and the stoner snowboard instructor is not that good at helping the adult woman out with constructive advice that's meaningful to her?


Like this. My first 2 hours on a snowboard: my friend and me, two 30yo girls. When instructor saw us, immediately called his friend. Then they both teach us how to do some sliding at the bottom of a green run. They we're mainly talking and try to look cool with us. That's all for 2h of lesson. 

I am sure I have to improve in almost everything. I have only one picture of me snowboarding this year and if I post it, I bet you can find tons of errors in my riding position. Only looking at one picture. And I agree in all of that. I see many issues myself. I need to ride, I want to ride and 8 months are a long time to wait.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

Maya said:


> Like this. My first 2 hours on a snowboard: my friend and me, two 30yo girls. When instructor saw us, immediately called his friend. Then they both teach us how to do some sliding at the bottom of a green run. They we're mainly talking and try to look cool with us. That's all for 2h of lesson.
> 
> I am sure I have to improve in almost everything. I have only one picture of me snowboarding this year and if I post it, I bet you can find tons of errors in my riding position. Only looking at one picture. And I agree in all of that. I see many issues myself. I need to ride, I want to ride and 8 months are a long time to wait.


Next lesson request a female instructor. For more than just the above I think it'd be beneficial. They'll be looking at your form for the right reasons.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

MCrides said:


> Are you skidding from edge to edge, or do you sometimes tilt the board and ride along the edge instead? Can you ride "straight" easily, or do you struggle to feel in control unless your board is sideways relative to the fall line?


I hope I don't get lost in translation. I am skidding when I do turns. Sometimes I ride along the edge but only when I am crossing the fall line and I am uncomfortable doing that (whaat? This board can go so smootly? I will never cope with that). 
I feel in control when my board is 90 degrees wrt fall line. I can ride straight, and I do feel stable, but in this case my negative thinking kicks in and I don't do it for long before 'braking'.

So fear + inexperience.


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## Rip154 (Sep 23, 2017)

Being comfortable in your boots, bindings, stance, and board means a lot for improving. 

Having a good mood (often improves on a good day), the right amount of clothing, and unrestrictive clothing is important, baggy and/or stretchy, and of course good visibility makes everything alot easier when riding, so use those good days for getting better.

You need those important muscles for balance up and running, and a board you can muscle around. You use your bodyweight alot for this, but the muscles in you lower leg and around the knee need to be solid to transfer the forces. Walking uphill and biking plus doing situps and static leg exercises helps alot, you need to fine tune and keep the pressure up for minutes at a time to be able to carve well.

Just try balancing on the edges when you get good conditions, it comes naturally after awhile, but it won't come if you don't try. Stop awhile, look at where you want to go and try it, stop again and look uphill at your tracks. Don't worry about getting down the hill, it's not a race. Some of my friends are in such a hurry getting down, and talk about all they can't do. When I ask them if they ever tried, the answer is usually no.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

Maya said:


> I hope I don't get lost in translation. I am skidding when I do turns. Sometimes I ride along the edge but only when I am crossing the fall line and I am uncomfortable doing that (whaat? This board can go so smootly? I will never cope with that).
> I feel in control when my board is 90 degrees wrt fall line. I can ride straight, and I do feel stable, but in this case my negative thinking kicks in and I don't do it for long before 'braking'.
> 
> So fear + inexperience.


Nope, this is very clear. One thing you'll want to get a feel for is how to consistently ride along your edges. Just like you do now when you traverse across the fall line, but what you want is to be able to do it pointing down or at least nearer to down the fall line as well. You can get a feel for this pretty quickly if you're already linking turns. Just put a small amount of pressure into the toe edge by pushing your shins forward. The board will tilt slightly onto that edge and you'll ride pretty much straight along it. Repeat on heel edge by sticking your butt back like you're starting to sit in a chair.

Practice this on the gentlest slope you can to get a feel for it. Increase and decrease the amount of tilt and notice what happens (you'll turn in the direction you tilt more the more you tilt). Getting decent at this will help you conquer only feeling in control when your board is 90 degrees to the fall line, which will be a huge step towards getting confident at speed and will make navigating narrow sections a breeze. This can also be parlayed into actual carving once you get better at it, which is super fun  IMO you can kiss flat basing goodbye completely until much later in your progression.

This won't make you a speed demon overnight, but it's an important hurdle to get past and for me made we WAY faster as soon as it clicked.


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## MCrides (Feb 25, 2019)

Rip154 said:


> Some of my friends are in such a hurry getting down, and talk about all they can't do. When I ask them if they ever tried, the answer is usually no.


Lol! So many snowboarders under the impression that getting better doesn't require practice.


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## kimchijajonshim (Aug 19, 2007)

Sanosaka39 said:


> Try getting comfortable riding on edges at low speed before moving onto riding at highspeed.


The conundrum is that riding on edge is actually easier at higher speed-- at least "higher" relative to the speeds beginners are moving. Same way that medium-sized jumps are generally easier to clear than most progression or small sized jumps. Steeper run-ins, better defined transition, better built lip and landing, and easier timing (plus less chance of a clueless jerry loitering in the landing after wiping out). Problem is that even though physics make the slightly bigger stuff technically easier, bigger stuff comes with higher consequences and a lot greater intimidation factor.


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## Aracan (Nov 24, 2017)

Maya said:


> I am skidding when I do turns. Sometimes I ride along the edge but only when I am crossing the fall line and I am uncomfortable doing that (whaat? This board can go so smootly? I will never cope with that).


Take the following advice with a grain of salt, because, as they say, if your only tool is a hammer, every problem tends to look like a nail. And what with me being into carving … anyway, here goes:
It sounds like you are not comfortable at speed because you do not trust your board. Which is another why of saying you do not trust your technique. And in my not-so-humble opinion, the basis of technique is how to skid and how to carve. If you have that down, confidence at speed will follow.
Since you are in Italy, I recommend you try to hook up with the Pure Boarding crowd for a day or two. They are basically hardbooters, but they are super nice and will welcome you no matter which boots you prefer.


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## Scalpelman (Dec 5, 2017)

Yeah sounds like you just need to refine technique. Speed will come. As above best places to practice are low angle runs. Go fast on those. Steep and ice makes everyone’s sphincter tighten. Don’t try steeps on icy days. Cherry pick blacks on soft or fresh snow days. 

Personally I ride mostly black runs but find that practicing my technique is best on greens and blues at lower speed.


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

drblast said:


> Repetition is what conquers fear. There is no way around that.


This. Sometimes I think ppl forget that snowboarding is a sports. As cool as it is... in one thing it's like any other sports, or activity in general: you only get better by repetition/exersise. 

Exercise can be fun, sure. Fun is important. but getting better can be part of that fun experience, too. It's up to anyone how fast he wants to progress, if at all. But in the end, progress only comes with time on slope and exercising the things one want to achieve. 

There are no shortcuts only because snowboarding is cool n fun n whatnot . Muscles have to learn the motions, mind has to learn the moves, body has to learn the balance. We've all been there (and continuously are)


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## steveM70 (Jan 26, 2020)

Just browsing the thread and adding my two cents: 1) more weight on front foot to help control chatter/ front end flop and get out of the back seat. I'm working on it too. 

Umh- crashing can hurt. I'm not even going there.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

Today I put my feet on a skateboard: fear of falling at 1 000 000, very depressing. I don't know if it makes sense to find a very easy progression on a skateboard to approach this big fear.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Maya said:


> Today I put my feet on a skateboard: fear of falling at 1 000 000, very depressing. I don't know if it makes sense to find a very easy progression on a skateboard to approach this big fear.


Better learn how to fall...first...especially on a skate board...on a snowboard, you generally don't turn into hamburger.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

Maya said:


> Today I put my feet on a skateboard: fear of falling at 1 000 000, very depressing. I don't know if it makes sense to find a very easy progression on a skateboard to approach this big fear.


Skating is scarier imo. Snowboarding always seemed easier to me because I was coming from skateboarding. So much of the fear was gone, because falling on snow is 1000x better than falling on asphalt. Falling at speed on a skateboard gives you terrible road rash unless you're in a motorcycle suit. Falling at speed on a snowboard is generally better than falling at slow speeds, because the force of the impact is dissipated into the slide. I'll slide out at 30 or 40 miles an hour as I push my high speed carving. It doesn't hurt at all unless you slide into something. 

That said, you've got the ability to bail on a skateboard. Being strapped in took some getting used to. I think skateboard training is great for balance and weight distribution. I do it all summer just because it's a good time. Longobards are much less intimidating. Generally speaking, the longer the board, the more stable it will be with the trade off of lower turning ability. Bigger wheels roll over more obstacles as well.

I've thought about how to teach people how to fall properly. It's important to retrain your instincts. Maybe Judo would be good because they throw each other on the mat a lot. Skateboarding is an effective tool for throwing yourself at the ground as well.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Better learn how to fall...first...especially on a skate board...on a snowboard, you generally don't turn into hamburger.


I tried to read and watch something online, but its an elusive topic, so I'd really like to have some relevant links.


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

Push yourself a tiny bit more each time you ride. You'll make incremental improvements to your confidence and speed. One day you'll think wow 2 years ago I was way slower.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Maya said:


> I tried to read and watch something online, but its an elusive topic, so I'd really like to have some relevant links.


Tips on falling? | Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums


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## speedjason (May 2, 2013)

The only way is to try and try.
But before that make sure you are absolutely dialed in on edge control. The last thing you want is a nasty edge catch at high speed.
So far I have done 60mph and it's pretty gnarly.


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## Maya (Mar 9, 2021)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Tips on falling? | Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums


Ah sorry @wrathfuldeity, you already linked it before and I forgot it.


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## Etienne (Apr 2, 2021)

As you mentionned looking far away is the #1 thing that will help you go faster confidently. Try to be in a state of mind where you "anticipate" things engouh. You really want your legs to actively absorb terrain, not just be subjected to it. And then get low and stable… and learn to honestly say to yourself if you were going to fast for your skills or if that was all in your head.

One thing that helped me more than anything was following faster people than me. One guide was doing like 5 turns on a face where I would do 15… then I started following his tracks and whole new way of riding powder opened to me


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