Beyond Fear

“The basis of all human fears, he thought. A closed door, slightly ajar.” ~ Stephen King, Salem's Lot

“Fear is a strange thing,” says Stephen King. “It can paralyze you or it can motivate you… What’s behind the door or lurking at the top of the stairs is never as frightening as the door or the staircase itself.”

I think of two times in my life when I had to embrace fear or be paralyzed by it.

The first time I faced my greatest fear was when I was 15 years old, flying solo in a high-performance airplane. I had trouble landing on the small dirt runway. After two failed attempts, it was do or die.

Getting ready to solo in dad's Cessna 206 Stationair.

I embraced the fear and moved past it. I imagined I had already crashed, and the worst was behind me. I was able to recalibrate my thoughts and land the plane successfully.

Read more here: Embracing Fear

The second time I faced fear of the worst kind was more recent. I had just arrived in Olympic Valley and foolishly attempted to climb up Tram Face without ropes or essential hiking gear.

Tram Face above Washeshu Creek, Olympic Valley, CA

Tram Face is an iconic, towering granite peak located in Olympic Valley, CA, at the base of Palisades Tahoe. I was able to get most of the way up until there were no more weeds or bushes to hold, just slippery vertical slabs of granite. Going down wasn’t an option. I would have slipped off the rock to certain death. Going up wasn’t an option. I had no ropes, no gloves, no harness, no guides, and nothing to grab or sink my fingers or sneakers into. 

As Steve Farber would say, it was an OSM! (Oh Sh*t Moment!). What to do?

Standing with my soaking back against the rock facing the stunning view of Olympic Valley below, I carefully pulled my phone out to call 911 to have a helicopter rescue. But then I remembered a lady friend who knew this area from her ski coaching days. Someone I had never met in person. Someone who was living in England during my moment of peril. She answered. She told me to move laterally across the rock to an area known as Tahoe Via Ferrata. I did as she instructed. And that’s where the real fun began. 

First handhold. Nowhere to go but up.

Using their steel handholds and rungs, I climbed up untethered and gloveless with sweaty hands. At one point my legs began to shake uncontrollably. I was over a thousand feet high and one misstep, one slip… And at that moment I remembered my flying experience as a child.

I imagined I had already fallen and put the worst behind me. I embraced the fear and moved past it. Not only did I make it safely to the top, but I also later married that woman from England, Nicola, who rescued me.

Read more here: The Beauty of Uncertainty

Fear can paralyze or motivate. The thing lurking out there, the thing crippling our mind, is the fear of uncertainty. It’s the fear of what might happen. It’s the door slightly ajar. By embracing fear, imagining the worst-case scenario and moving past it, you’ll be in a much better position to make rational decisions, and in some cases, life-saving decisions.

(Note: If you climb Tahoe Via Ferrata, do so with their guides & gear.)

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I’m Michael Kennedy, a resident of Olympic Valley, CA (in photo above). I’m a visual storyteller and I love exploring nature. I know we live in a world that demands our attention. I just want to say thank you for your attention. If you enjoyed this post, please share with a friend. For more photos and stories visit www.BlueWolfGallery.com.