Risk Acceptance Descriptions

How about haiku?

I'll try.

I love summits, whether large or small.  If I have more time and weather window, then a bigger summit.  Ruth my last trip was awesome, just perfect for the available time and conditions.

I have had to decide to turn away from summits due to weather issues repeatedly, only once due to avalanche risk.  There is always another day to try it.

I like going with friends and making new friends, I love going solo.  Solitude in the mountains is spiritual.  I just wish it was safer, I don't solo often, and only to places I really understand.

I'm perfectly happy to take a moderate pitch down.  My favorite run ever was from the summit of Baker down Easton.

My family is totally number one: I understand that backcountry skiing has significant risks, but my intent is to keep the level of those risks to the order of magnitude of, for example, car travel (evaluated in total risk per year of life).  I also believe that the fitness benefit (of all my outdoor activity in the aggregate) partly offsets the accident risk.  A couch potato who dies of a heart attack at 50 is just as dead as a skier who dies in an avalanche at the same age.

My risk level increases as my skill.  For thast few years my skill is improving gradually, so the slopes are getting steeper.  In general though, I prefer a moderate, safe run full of fun.

Risk... My favorite topic!

I like mine moderation, although I sometimes binge. It seems my tolerance level fluctuates. As I gain skill and confidence, I think danger negates, while percepted risk grows. The consequences may seem higher, but they are not. The ability to avoid them equals out the equation.

Great thread Cookie!

As my skiing improves I like to push myself onto steeper  and more technical runs but won't push it where avy conditions are concerned as the snow doesn't care how good a skier you are and will avalanche when IT wants to.

Skiing untracked powder is the closest thing to ecstasy for me and sometimes this can overrule my instincts and I have to remind myself about what I said above.

I am still scared of steep and icy and this sometimes leads me to embarrass myself with my friends who are more confident in this terrain but I'm not scared to back off even when it may be embarrassing, although sometimes I do regret it afterwards. Peer pressure can be tough to resist!

Sometimes it's worth a little extra risk to ski a magnificent line.

Meadow skipping leaves me increasingly unfulfilled.

I like the zen like feeling of totally concentration and living in the moment that skiing a very challenging line produces.

I still get really scared at times !

When I do overcome my fear , control it and succeed , it feels so good.

I love my family but they never enter my mind when decision making about a run.

You mental state in a situation usually dictates how things turn out. If you are totally sketched and pucker-up, the chances of things turning south increase greatly. Confidence and not second guessing yourself usually pays off. I find this true mostly in climbing but have applied it to skiing as well. The second you start thinking about the “what-ifs” it is best bail.

I am referring to the things in your control not issues like weather and snow conditions. If you are in that sort of situation you best have done your homework before hand.