Overcoming Fear Through Guided Mountaineering

One guided mountaineering trip on Mt Baker training on technical skills and learning from pros has me overcoming a decade long fear of snow. Sounds ridiculous, but Chionophobia brought on by underprepared years of living in alaska (having moved there from Arizona at the time and being from ca) and learning everything the hard way with improper gear developed an immense respect of the dangers of snow that kept me largely away from attempting the biggest peaks for years. I delved head first into skiing several years ago, even taking trips ski trips to japan and Canada to overcome the anxiety snow sports gave me, and the fear still hadn’t left my conscious. At least not for attempting peaks. I’ve learned befriending fear is the best way to grow your comfort zone. better yet, learning from and with people who are good at teaching, have tons of experience, and are stoked on sharing their knowledge is so important to helping in gaining true confidence in any field. If you’re looking to get out there and try some “out of reach” goals of yours, I can’t recommend enough booking some guided trips and jumping into learning new skills. @mountain_madness_inc was incredible for me. So much so 2 weeks later I planned and put together a Mt Adams summit myself, felt fully confident, and experienced zero issues due to the preparedness and knowledge they equipped me with. I also recommend trying things with experienced, trained friends who are excited to teach and having people try new things. Those friends who are patient and won’t make you feel rushed or lacking in any way. Here’s to using fear this year to fuel attempting your most audacious goals and dreams. Can’t wait to go deeper on mastering skills and eventually helping others do the same. Rainier and Denali now feel like goals I want to tackle rather than limits 🤞😉. 📸: @connorwillgress