For us non-professionals, standing above a slope full of bumps can be a bit unnerving, while professional skiers have a way of making moguls look easy; with their knees locked together, these athletes speed downhill like their torsos are on springs. However, with a handful of tips and some practice, you too can cruise through mogul runs, and you might even look good doing so.
Skiing bumps is arguably one of most challenging aspects of the sport. A mogul field is a unique and unforgiving environment and there’s no quick fix to becoming at home in this terrain, so it's no surprise that most skiers shy away. Developing the balance, athleticism and versatility to ski moguls will improve your skiing on piste, in the powder, trees, steeps, racing, and other challenging snow conditions.
How to Improve your Moguls | For Intermediate Skiers
Here are some fundamental techniques to help you navigate mogul fields:
- Maintain balance
- Choose an easy line
- Choose a fast line
Let's delve into each of these aspects in more detail.
What are Moguls?
Moguls are bumps that you'll find on some groomed slopes at downhill ski areas. When skiers make sharp turns, their skis carve snow out and push a bit of it away from them each time. As more and more skiers follow the same line, the snow accumulates to form a large bump, called a mogul. They can be constructed purposely by the ski area, but more often they form naturally as skiers carve turns down a slope. Because skiers link turn after turn when going downhill, moguls tend to form in fields.
Every mogul has an uphill side and a downhill side as well as a relatively flat top. The scraped-off, often-icy area between the bumps is the trough.
Moguls form whenever lots of people ski the same slope. Other skiers naturally slide into the trough you’ve made and push more snow. Every time you make a turn you push snow out of your line and form a little mound. The more this happens the deeper the trough gets and the bigger the bump. Skidding turns and slamming on the brakes compounds the 'bump building' effect. This is why you usually find the moguls get larger at the steepest parts of the slope. All those people skiing defensively create deep ruts and steep bumps.
Maintaining Balance While Skiing Moguls
One of the challenges when skiing moguls is how easily you can get knocked off balance while trying to navigate over and around the bumps. Since skiing is balance, the goal is for your body to arrive at the bump at the same time as your feet. There is no one way to ski moguls. Skiing is balance. With balance, everything becomes easy. But that stance you’ve worked so hard on for the groomers is just the start here. The skis are now moving in 3D; the gradient and direction of the slope is constantly changing. A groomed piste is a smooth plane.
Here's how to maintain balance while skiing moguls:
- Keep your hands in front of you: Doing so helps with weight distribution and it will keep your body facing mostly downhill, which will help you maintain your momentum into the next mogul.
- Stay limber: Be prepared to extend and flex your legs to keep your skis on the snow.
- Pay attention to your poles: You'll almost always want to plant on the top of the bump, and your pole should get there before your feet do.
In bumps all your movements need to combine with much more precise timing. As long as you do the right movements, in the right order, the skis will turn where you want.
Choosing Your Line: Skiing on Top vs. Around the Bumps
To find the easiest way down a mogul field, the key is to make your turns on top of the bumps, if you don't have much experience with moguls, then standing at the top of a whole slope of them can be daunting. When you're comfortable turning around the top of the moguls and you're looking for a speedier way down, you can try turning on the outside of the trough.
Skiing on Top of the Bumps
Here's how to find an easy line through moguls:
- Pick your line: When you're at the top of a run trying to figure out how to get down, go for the line with the most consistently sized and spaced moguls.
- Aim high: Ski up to the highest point on the mogul, plant your pole, and use the slope to slow yourself down a bit-it will almost feel like a hockey stop.
- Twist to turn: Then twist your skis to make your turn around your pole, and slide down the back of the bump. Pivoting your skis should be pretty easy because your tips and tails will be off the snow.
- Look ahead: Remember to keep your eyes up and looking ahead to the next mogul so you can get in position.
Skiing Around the Bumps
On this path, you're going to ski around the mogul rather than sliding into it.
Here's how to find a fast line through moguls:
- Stay outside: As you approach the bump, make a turn on the outside of the trough. Aim to crest your turn on the uphill slope of the next mogul over. You can almost treat that slope like a banked track where you're using the bank to help you turn.
- Cross the trough: Then you'll cross the trough and crest your next turn on the other side. You'll find that there's room for a bigger turn than you may think.
- Keep your eyes up: Remember to look ahead to the next turn.
To improve mogul skiing, focus on timing and balance. Aim to finish turns at the top of a bump where skis are easier to turn. Practice weight distribution to maintain balance, using tools like Carv for audio feedback on fore/aft balance. Master pivoting skis without changing direction to control speed and maintain line in moguls.