# Skiing the moguls



## kingslug (Mar 26, 2019)

So..how do ski moguls? This weekend with the Big Bazookas, and out west I find I can just flash through them 6 at a time rather than hitting each one. Very economical, not as tiring for sure. Was skiing with a very good bump skier who had great form and she  was like...you don't turn much?  with fat skis I guess you don't have to..just kind of float through them. 
When it got mashed up more turning was required but certainly not as much as when I'm on the 85's. I don't think my knees could take that kind of hit them all pounding.


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## Domeskier (Mar 26, 2019)

If you're absorbing them right, the knees don't take much of a pounding.  Which is not to say it's not tiring.  just more like running up a flight of stairs than jumping down them.


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## deadheadskier (Mar 26, 2019)

Thread doesn't compute unless you are skiing at a 45 degree angle to the fall line on well spaced, uniform bumps. As in riding the channel across the lines instead of skiing down them. 

If you are committed to the fall line, i.e. the zipper, straightlining is still one turn per bump unless you go airborne or in some cases completing a second turn on the backside of a larger bump to check speed or reposition yourself in non-uniform lines.

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## BenedictGomez (Mar 26, 2019)

deadheadskier said:


> Thread doesn't compute



+1

Unless I'm misinterpreting his writing.  Even Mikael Kingsbury has to ski each bump.


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## chuckstah (Mar 26, 2019)

Slow and shitty, but I certainly turn on each bump, at least until I'm eventually tossed off the line or crash. But it certainly is fun.


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## Ski the Moguls (Mar 26, 2019)

Well, since you asked ... I am always looking for nice zipper lines. I find skiing good bumps to be as much fun as fresh powder. And I find anything much over 90mm underfoot to be a serious hindrance to making the quick turns that are needed.


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## Not Sure (Mar 26, 2019)

East vs West again .....Recycled Concrete vs Packing Peanuts .....You can get away with wider skis out West . 

Most people are better Mogul skiers than they know if they would just lower your stance and keep your hands out front . I see too many people keeping an upright stance after a bump or two it's backseat .


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## deadheadskier (Mar 26, 2019)

Siliconebobsquarepants said:


> East vs West again .....Recycled Concrete vs Packing Peanuts .....You can get away with wider skis out West .
> 
> Most people are better Mogul skiers than they know if they would just lower your stance and keep your hands out front . I see too many people keeping an upright stance after a bump or two it's backseat .


I either don't agree or don't understand what you mean.  Of all aspects of skiing, moguls are where you want to ski as tall as possible.  You want to allow the maximum leg travel absorbing the mogul with a steady, straight and quiet upper body.  If you are skiing bumps with a crouched stance the absorption occurs in the upper body instead of the legs and that's when you get bucked backwards.

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## CS2-6 (Mar 26, 2019)

If the bumps are very small and the run very un-steep, I could see just blasting through them with fat skis, otherwise...

I definitely turn on every bump.  And if the moguls are big enough or spaced out a lot I like to cut an extra turn on the backside of a bump or in the wide trough, respectively.

I went skiing once with a guy I knew who worked at the rental shop at Wolf Creek.  He knew I liked moguls but he told me he honestly had no interest in them anymore since he'd torn his ACL and messed up his back.  So, he would ski a couple bumps, then get air on one and clear 4 or 5.  I guess that's one way...

But I'm with Domeskier, moguls are easier on my knees than running.


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## tnt1234 (Mar 26, 2019)

I guess you could flash through 6 of them if they are small and soft.  but not turn on every mogul on like National 7 days after a snowfall?  Not really sure how that could happen...

or outer limits!  Skip over 6 bumps on that one!

But on a powder day when the moguls are just coming to life, sure, I could see a stiff, wide ski just plowing through those piles...


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## Not Sure (Mar 26, 2019)

deadheadskier said:


> I either don't agree or don't understand what you mean.  Of all aspects of skiing, moguls are where you want to ski as tall as possible.  You want to allow the maximum leg travel absorbing the mogul with a steady, straight and quiet upper body.  If you are skiing bumps with a crouched stance the absorption occurs in the upper body instead of the legs and that's when you get bucked backwards.
> 
> Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app




Upper body should be quiet yes . If you're standing erect at the top of a mogul bad things will happen vs standing erect in the trough. The trouble I see a lot of people have is they run out of leg travel by a more erect stance .


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## makimono (Mar 26, 2019)

1993. I was on a steep 35-ish degree slope with massive shoulder high moguls at Bridger Bowl MT. My buddy and I were both pretty decent skiers and were having fun wiggling our way down this thing. I stopped half way down for a breather and my friend pulled up next to me when we both heard this sound coming and getting louder: thump, Thump THUMP *THUMP!*

I think we were both wondering if maybe an avalanche was coming? when out of nowhere 2 guys, one right after the other, come ripping down this thing at ludicrous speed just slamming into the tops of each bump and airing right over the troughs. Just about straight lining it. They practically skied right over our heads about ten feet away and as quickly as they appeared they were gone. That moment changed my life. I'd never seen anything like it before, never knew something like that was even possible on skis and it really changed the way I thought about skiing from that point on.


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## Griswold (Mar 26, 2019)

makimono said:


> 1993. I was on a steep 35-ish degree slope with massive shoulder high moguls at Bridger Bowl MT. My buddy and I were both pretty decent skiers and were having fun wiggling our way down this thing. I stopped half way down for a breather and my friend pulled up next to me when we both heard this sound coming and getting louder: thump, Thump THUMP *THUMP!*
> 
> I think we were both wondering if maybe an avalanche was coming? when out of nowhere 2 guys, one right after the other, come ripping down this thing at ludicrous speed just slamming into the tops of each bump and airing right over the troughs. Just about straight lining it. They practically skied right over our heads about ten feet away and as quickly as they appeared they were gone. That moment changed my life. I'd never seen anything like it before, never knew something like that was even possible on skis and it really changed the way I thought about skiing from that point on.



This is awesome!  I had almost the exact same experience on Outer limits in 2015 on the day of the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge.  Some guy in an old school Hart jacket and no helmet was absolutely shredding through the deep troughs at a speed I never thought was possible.  Really opened my eyes to how awesome mogul skiing can be and ever since I’ve been almost exclusively focused on skiing moguls.


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## kingslug (Mar 27, 2019)

When possible I hit it at a diagonal, but they have to be space right for that. Tight ones, just like everyone else 1 or 2 at a time..It was fun getting down upper Goat on those planks..HUGE moguls..had to hop turn it was so tight ..and crowded. tough run..no going fast on that thing until the middle.


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## kingslug (Mar 27, 2019)

For those who  have never seen upper Goat..this is a good shot.


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## tnt1234 (Mar 27, 2019)

The lightbulb moment for me when skiing big moguls on steep terrain was when I realized you could turn ON TOP of the moguls....even MORE THAN ONE TURN! if you want!

Instead of trying to deep and steep mogul fields like a traditional mogul skier, like skiing the troughs and one turn on the back or side of one mogul at a time...you know, the right way to ski moguls....just plow up onto those big volkswagons and treat them like a little stretch of terrain onto themselves.....

Use this as an opportunity to check speed, or just kind of weave on bob up and over all of them, like they aren't moguls there to bash on teh die, but rather it's terrain meant to be skied head on....

Really changed my ability to enjoy giant bumped up trails.


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## tnt1234 (Mar 27, 2019)

kingslug said:


> For those who  have never seen upper Goat..this is a good shot.




best trail ever.


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## BenedictGomez (Mar 27, 2019)

kingslug said:


> For those who  have never seen upper Goat..this is a good shot.



Is that guy prepared for avalanche, or is he camping on Mansfield?


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## ThinkSnow (Mar 27, 2019)

So is this thread about all natural moguls, or moguls that have been groomed down occasionally, and allowed to reform?


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## kingslug (Mar 27, 2019)

Anything really. I've been trying my big powder boards on everything I find. My friend out in Utah uses 120 wide as daily skis..so I thought I'd test mine. They do make getting around easy. Last weekend had a lot of different conditions to play around in. Ending up with icy areas between the bumps as the day went on Sunday. And yes turning on top is one sure fire way to get down.


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## KustyTheKlown (Mar 27, 2019)

BenedictGomez said:


> Is that guy prepared for avalanche, or is he camping on Mansfield?




he's probably just backcountry skiing off of the chin the same day. slides do happen in the notch and up high on mansfield sometimes.

i agree re: turning on top of the bumps. was an epiphany moment when i figured that one out.


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## urungus (Mar 27, 2019)

KustyTheKlown said:


> i agree re: turning on top of the bumps. was an epiphany moment when i figured that one out.


  Also agree.  In other threads I sometimes see complaints about noobs destroying bumps due to their poor mogul skiing technique.  I fear I may be guilty of this because sometimes I am just trying to survive out there.  But rarely is there an explanation of exactly what the noobs are doing that is so wrong.  If I turn on the top of a mogul and in the process some snow gets pushed into the trough, am I guilty of destroying the mogul ?


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## Domeskier (Mar 27, 2019)

urungus said:


> Also agree.  In other threads I sometimes see complaints about noobs destroying bumps due to their poor mogul skiing technique.  I fear I may be guilty of this because sometimes I am just trying to survive out there.  But rarely is there an explanation of exactly what the noobs are doing that is so wrong.  If I turn on the top of a mogul and in the process some snow gets pushed into the trough, am I guilty of destroying the mogul ?



I'm not quite sure what people mean when they say they are turning on the top of a bump and contrast that with standard mogul technique.  Bump skiers are also turning as they crest the bump.  Granted, most of the turn happens when the skis are unweighted in the absorption phase, but the goal is to complete the turn as close to top of the backside of the mogul as possible to set up for the next bump.

I don't think poor bump technique is a big issue in firm, well-established bump lines.  In soft corn, when the bumps are still setting up, an idiosyncratic turn or two can screw up a nascent line.  That's why it's frustrating in late spring when K insists on grooming out Superstar every night.


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## mulva (Mar 27, 2019)

Looking 3 bumps ahead and not at the current or next bump helps a ton.


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## kingslug (Mar 27, 2019)

Trying to teach my wife a very basic fact..if you want to ski moguls well..you have to ski moguls. This is very slowly sinking in..but she doesn't like them.


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## Glenn (Mar 27, 2019)

kingslug said:


> Trying to teach my wife a very basic fact..if you want to ski moguls well..you have to ski moguls. This is very slowly sinking in..but she doesn't like them.



Have her ski some seeded bumps. My wife will try those a few times a season. It's easier to pick a line and get into a rhythm when the bumps are evenly spaced. It also helps if you can ski out of the bumps and onto a groomed section of the trail if her legs get tired.


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## Domeskier (Mar 27, 2019)

mulva said:


> Looking 3 bumps ahead and not at the current or next bump helps a ton.



Agreed.  The line will look less steep/intimidating and the bumps seem to come at you more slowly.


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## BenedictGomez (Mar 27, 2019)

kingslug said:


> Trying to teach my wife a very basic fact..if you want to ski moguls well..you have to ski moguls. This is very slowly sinking in..but *she doesn't like them.*



My wife hates moguls and has no desire to learn how to ski them.  It's a shame, as she'll never realize the joy of glade skiing.


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## kingslug (Mar 27, 2019)

Stuff like this you can fly through on fat boards..or any board I guess if you want. Launch, turn in the air..fun stuff.


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## kingslug (Mar 27, 2019)

This I would not fly on..Just watching people ski here is cool.


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## BenedictGomez (Mar 27, 2019)

kingslug said:


> Stuff like this you can fly through on fat boards..or any board I guess if you want. Launch, turn in the air..fun stuff.



Those are like "baby moguls" though, or moguls-to-be.  I would not want to navigate a legitimate mogul field on fat skis.


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## kingslug (Mar 27, 2019)

yeah..had to hop turn down upper Goat..tight in there..


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## jack97 (Mar 27, 2019)

makimono said:


> 1993. I was on a steep 35-ish degree slope with massive shoulder high moguls at Bridger Bowl MT. My buddy and I were both pretty decent skiers and were having fun wiggling our way down this thing. I stopped half way down for a breather and my friend pulled up next to me when we both heard this sound coming and getting louder: thump, Thump THUMP *THUMP!*
> 
> I think we were both wondering if maybe an avalanche was coming? when out of nowhere 2 guys, one right after the other, come ripping down this thing at ludicrous speed just slamming into the tops of each bump and airing right over the troughs. Just about straight lining it. They practically skied right over our heads about ten feet away and as quickly as they appeared they were gone. That moment changed my life. I'd never seen anything like it before, never knew something like that was even possible on skis and it really changed the way I thought about skiing from that point on.








I have seen some that can do this in person and I'm still at awe.


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## Bumpsis (Mar 27, 2019)

jack97 said:


> I have seen some that can do this in person and I'm still at awe.



These kind of mogul fields don't exist anymore. These roundish half peach shaped mounds with perfect sinusoidal lines between them seem to be a thing of the past. What we do have is something looking more like bunch a banana shaped ridges that have a lot of perpendicular orientation and a lot of space in between. No rhythm or line, just a slog.

Two weeks ago I had a vacation week at Sugarloaf. There was a ton of good snow and moguls, but my favorite runs like Ripsaw, Bubblecuffer, Winters Way, Boomauger that usually grow some fabulous lines of moguls all sucked. Weird bumps all over the place.
I don't know what changed, wide skis? snowboard made lines? Who knows.
I don't ski anything wider than 80mm under my feet and in spring, I really like to bring out by "skinny" K2 Kevlars from the bygone era and dance in corn bumps. No more. 
I could never do even a fraction of what the video shows, but I could do some and that was a blast.


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## makimono (Mar 27, 2019)

Some of my favorite days of the year are K in May when Superstar is all that's left and it's edge to edge hot buttered corn bumps.

The monoski is really a great tool for soft moguls. I know Plake could probably rip moguls on a lunch tray, but this clip from License to Thrill was the reason I bought my first mono over 25 years ago


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## Not Sure (Mar 27, 2019)

Bumpsis said:


> These kind of mogul fields don't exist anymore



I thought I was the only one who thought like that . I recall bumps being more tightly spaced . My favorite trick  was to  launch off one ,clear another and land the downside of the 3rd trough . I can only clear one trough now but they seem much further apart to me , Shaped skis , snowboard effects ? Or maybe I gained 40lbs ?


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## BushMogulMaster (Mar 27, 2019)

If the goal is "mogul skiing," then I definitely wouldn't recommend fat boards. If the goal is just to get around the hill, then sure, you can ski them on fats. But I'd make that distinction between "getting through" the moguls, and actually _skiing_ the moguls.

I have quite a few thoughts about mogul skiing. Here's a summary. More detail to follow.



Ski in a tall stacked position (straight line from balls of feet through hips through shoulders), with legs together in a tight stance, driving forward with your hips
In this stacked position, you should always feel positive shin pressure on the tongues of your boots; this allows you to drive your tips
Keep your hands out in front, and elbows close to the ribs
Initiate your turns with "lead change", tucking one knee behind the other to lead with the new downhill ski, which should then carry most of your weight
Make your pole plants just on downhill side of the bump, and with a subtle flick of the wrist; never let your arms drag behind you, or rest lazily at your hips
Keep your eyes up and focused downhill by at least 3 bumps
Absorb & Extend - this is both passive and active. As your tips contact a bump, begin an active absorption, then let the bump push you further to a full absorption. As you crest the bump, begin the lead change and STAND UP! Actively extend, fully.
Narrower skis with less sidecut are requisite for efficient and enjoyable bump skiing. Fat skis don't allow you to keep your legs together, and take up too much real estate. Heavy sidecut initiates and holds turns at undesired moments, and often in too wide a radius. You don't strictly need bump skis. But 80mm or less at the waist is helpful, and minimal sidecut.

A couple other general thoughts:



For serious skiers, skiing technique should be like a toolbox, not a "one-size-fits-all." You can drive a screw with a hammer. It's not efficient or pretty. You can ski bumps with a slalom or GS carve. It's not efficient or pretty. Different terrain and different conditions dictate different techniques. Tools can be expensive up front, but save you money down the road. Invest in filling your toolbox.
Learning to ski moguls is like learning a musical instrument. You don't become proficient overnight, or with one lesson. It takes dedication and practice, and there's always more to learn. If you think you've "made it," you're wrong.


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## BushMogulMaster (Mar 27, 2019)

*WARNING: VERY LONG WINDED POST!
*
The tips that follow are from a brain dump I spewed out more than ten years ago. Some stuff may be out of date; I'm not going through it line by line to find out. I wrote this at a time when I thought I knew a lot more than I probably did. But after a few years of teaching mogul clinics, and a lot more years skiing moguls, I think the gist of it is still a good foundation. Hopefully it can be of some use to someone!*

Mogul Skiing Tips*

*Basic Stance*
Before you decide to go gung-ho in the zipper-line, there are some technique and posture ideas with which you should become comfortable.

You should immediately get to know the appropriate mogul skiing native posture. This is the basic stance you will use in all of your skiing, in or out of the bumps. In the native stance, you should be what folks in the mogul world call “stacked.” This means that your feet, knees, and shoulders should make a line, and should all be _stacked_ on top of each other. If you do this correctly, you should feel your shins putting solid pressure on your boot tongues (be sure to maintain this pressure while skiing). You need to become comfortable with this position… it is absolutely crucial to your success in the bumps. Skiing in a stacked posture will help to keep your skis under your body, and keep them from shooting out in front of you. 

Another key to correct mogul skiing is a relatively tight stance. In other words, as mogul skiers, we ski with our skis much closer together than we would if we were laying down railroad track carves. I personally ski with a stance so tight that my ankles are practically locked together. My ski tips are well shaved from crossing at the inside corners. You could adopt this type of stance, or you could go for a slightly wider stance. A general rule of thumb would be to try to keep your stance no wider than about 4 or 5 inches (space between your boots). This helps you to keep balanced in the bumps, and helps your skis work together in absorbing them.

*Drills:*
The best way to become comfortable with this stacked stance is to practice it on the groomers for hours. If you are a 20+ day/season skier, devote 3 or more days to just practicing on intermediate and single-diamond groomed runs, always trying to keep yourself in this stacked posture. Try to make medium radius turns using solely knee angulation (do not drop your hips or shoulders toward the snow as you would in a typical alpine turn). Hint: it’s okay to slide a little bit when making these turns!

As you become more comfortable with those turns, begin progressing toward quicker short radius turns using the same technique as the medium radius turns (short radius turns will be discussed in detail in section 4).

If you only have several days each season to ski, then learning to ski moguls could prove quite a challenging task. However, do not fret! You’ll do yourself a big favor if you be certain to master this stance on the flats before even setting ski in the bumps, even if it takes all of your ski days in one season. Once you have the posture down, you will be able to improve in the bumps much more quickly. 

Remember: if you don’t have many days each season to ski, don’t rush it and don’t get frustrated if it takes a while to get to your desired level. Anyone who has learned to play a musical instrument understands that it takes time, dedication, and practice to achieve proficiency. Skiing is no different. Take your time, and enjoy the process.

*Your Eyes: Always One Step Ahead of Your Feet*
A common problem among many recreational mogul skiers is their eyes. When you’re in a bump field, you should always look at least 3-4 bumps ahead of you. Your head and your eyes should always be up, looking ahead, not down. Think about it: if you’re only looking down at the bump beneath you, then how are you going to be able to prepare for what lies ahead? That’s right… you can’t. Half the battle in skiing moguls well is being prepared for the upcoming bumps (or other obstacles). If you are looking ahead 3 or 4 moguls, you will be able to plan (subconsciously, sometimes) what to do when you actually get to that bump. You will be able to ski a much smoother run, and you will be ready for whatever is ahead. If there’s a stray ski pole in your line, you’ll have time to switch lines to avoid disaster. If someone ahead of you has fallen, you will be able to adjust before plowing him over. If your line is irregular, you won’t be surprised when you run into a bump that isn’t where you wanted it to be.

Looking ahead is critical to skiing a safe and fluid mogul run. At first, you may feel uncomfortable not looking at what is underneath you. But think about it: since you’ve already seen the bump (because you looked at it a couple of bumps ago), you already know what’s there. You also may feel like your feet won’t know what to do unless you’re carefully studying what’s beneath them. Nonsense! Your feet, legs, boots, and skis can do a lot more on their own than you’d like to believe! 

*Drills:*
Head to a relatively easy intermediate groomed run. Pick a reasonable portion of the trail to ski without stopping. Find an object at the end of that portion to focus on. It could be a tree, a snowmaking hydrant, a sign, a lift tower, whatever (as long as it is stationary, of course). As you ski that portion of the trail, keep your eyes on that object and ski in your stacked stance making short-radius turns. Do this until you become very comfortable with the idea of looking ahead instead of down.

Then, take this same idea and apply it in a low-pitch bump field, preferably one that is half groomed/half bumps so that you can safely bail out if necessary. Start out just looking one bump ahead. Then, as you become used to that, move on to 2, 3, 4. If you can get comfortable looking 5+ bumps ahead, then more power to you! It will certainly work to your advantage!

*Quiet Upper Body*
To be successful in the bumps, and to look like a fluid bump skier, you need to have what is referred to as a _quiet_ upper body. This means that your lower body (you skis, boots, knees, legs, hips, etc.) need to be doing all of the movement and the work, and your upper body needs to remain as still as possible. Yes… your arms will be moving a little bit for pole plants, but we’ll cover that technique later.
As you progress down a bump line, you will be turning your skis, absorbing the shock, moving up and down, maybe taking a little jump here and there. But as long as you are in the bumps, you should try to keep everything above your hips as quiet as possible. Your shoulders must always remain square down the fall line. This sets your entire body in the mode of skiing the fall line smoothly and properly. If you watch the pros in competition runs, you’ll notice that they’re flying through the bumps, turning and absorbing with incredible speed; but through it all, their upper bodies remain nice and still, and directed straight down the fall line.

Any excess movement in the upper body can cause trouble in the bumps. It can move your CG (center of gravity) and cause you to lose your balance. It can also dampen the effectiveness of absorption and extension, and it just plain looks sloppy.

This all works hand in hand with the previous section. Keeping your upper body still will help you to keep your head up, and looking down the fall line. Vice-versa, looking ahead a few bumps and keeping your focus down the fall line will also help you to keep your upper body still.

*Drills:*
As with the topics covered earlier, the place to practice is on the groomers. Schuss yourself to a medium-pitch intermediate trail. Keeping your eyes focused ahead of you and down the fall line, make quick short-radius turns. Pay close attention to keeping your upper body still, and not turning your shoulders with your skis. A good way to hone this skill is to pick an object like you did in the last section, and focus on it again. This time, instead of just looking at it and skiing toward it, hold your poles upside down (handles in your hands, baskets pointed to the sky, a little less than shoulder-width apart, making a "TV screen" for your eyes to look through. Try to ski down to that object, keeping it between your poles at all times. Be sure to make you turns like to always do, but remember to keep your upper body still enough to keep that object between your arms. 

*Short Radius Turns*
Short radius turns are crucial to bump skiing for two main reasons: first, because the turns you will make in the bumps are short radius, since 95% of the bumps you will encounter are relatively close together (certainly closer than would allow for a slalom or a GS style turn). Secondly, because the short radius turn on the groomers allows for the closest imitation of actually being in the bumps, which gives you the opportunity to practice bump skiing techniques on the flats.

To make these short radius turns on the groomers, you need to ski in your stacked mogul skiing stance, and keep your upper body quiet like we discussed in the previous section. As you start down the run, initiate this short turn with "lead change," which describes the subtle knee angulation and ankle roll that allows fast, tight, carved mogul turns. As you begin the turn, one knee tucks behind the other knee, positioning your legs and feet to transition to the new downhill ski. To initiate the right turn, the left knee angles to tuck just behind the right knee. To initiate the left turn, the right knee angles to tuck just behind the left knee. As you do this, the majority of your weight should shift to the new downhill ski. If you are keeping the stacked position and good shin pressure, this will automatically initiate a short radius carve from the tip of the new downhill ski. Your tails might "wash out" and slide a bit; that's okay.

You can vary your speed by adjusting when and how hard you make a firm edge set at the end of the turn. Making extremely short radius turns and initiating the lead change with a minimal edge set when your skis are barely across the fall line will allow you to take a more direct line and ski more quickly. Waiting for your skis to come more perpendicular to the fall line and edging harder will help you to keep your speed down a little.
*
Drills:*
The best way to practice is to simply do it. Lots. Vary your speed and your edge set, getting a feel for the lead change motion. Perhaps start with a larger radius turn, and little-by-little tighten the radius until you are making tons of tiny turns. Then work your way back to a slightly wider radius. Do this until you are more than comfortable with making short-radius turns. As you practice, it is key to remember to keep your eyes up and you upper body still!

The most effective method to rehearse keeping your weight on the downhill ski is to spend some time on the groomers doing wedge turns like you did when you first learned to ski. If you’re not familiar with these turns, place your skis in the snowplow ( / \ ) position. Begin going down the trail. To turn left, keep your left ski straight and turn your right ski left, putting your weight on the downhill (right) ski ( | \ ) and drive the tip of the downhill ski with firm shin pressure. Do the opposite for your right turn ( / | ). As you turn, you should feel a pinch near your hip. These wedge turns will make weighting your downhill ski second-nature.

*Picking a Line*
One of the most common questions aspiring bump skiers always ask is: “Where do I ski in the bump field? How do I pick my line?” Well, the most obvious answer would be, “ski down the fall line!” Of course, that’s not very helpful when you’re a new mogul skier trying to make a logical choice as to how to ski a particular bump field.

As you come to the beginning of a bump trail, take a few seconds to survey the moguls, looking for possible hazards such as ice, bare spots, fallen skiers, etc. Pick a part of the trail to ski that is free of any such hazards. If you are skiing seeded bumps (moguls built by snowcats or other mogul-building techniques) then your line will be right there in front of you: left, right, left, right, left, right. Also, in ideal conditions on a natural bump run with only expert bumpers skiing the trail, the lines will be obvious and straight down the fall line. However, many of the natural bumps you will encounter will not be in straight lines, and will include some irregularities and some odd bump locations.

On natural mogul runs, the most important concept for you to understand is that you shouldn't allow the troughs (ruts between the bumps) or bump alignment to totally dictate your line. As mogul skiers, our sole interest and intent is to ski the fall line as straight as possible. Therefore, when you choose a line, choose one that is as regular as possible, but as you ski it, simply absorb through the irregularities (more on this later) and stay in your line straight down the trail. Sometimes you will encounter troughs so deep that you feel like they’ll suck you right in. You have two options: ski through it, or make a hop turn over it onto your next bump. What you do not want to do (as much as possible) is leave your line to avoid an irregular bump or a deep trough. This makes for choppy, disconnected mogul skiing, and you often have to stop to regain composure and pick your line again.

Line selection is one of those concepts that you’ll become comfortable with as you ski more and more moguls. As you master the techniques discussed herein, you’ll begin to realize that you’re not even “picking” a line anymore, so much as just skiing the fall line without having to think about it.

One issue that arises for many mogul skiers is that they spend too much time dwelling over choosing their line. Some go to the extent of planning out each of their first dozen or two turns. This is not necessarily helpful. The biggest issue here is that, if you plan out your first, say, 15 turns and you miss the 7[SUP]th[/SUP] planned turn, you’re completely flustered, out of your line, and out of rhythm. The other problem here is that, if you’re planning your turns based on where the bumps are, you’re letting the terrain dictate your line instead of vice-versa. It's like a jazz musician planning the first 12 bars of his solo, then missing a lick in the fifth bar... it's all downhill from there! Instead, he'll probably plan the basic shape of his solo, and improvise. It's the same in the bumps... you're basic shape is down the fall line. Improvise as needed!

There are no specific drills for this idea. The only way to get better at line selection is to ski more bumps.

*Shin Pressure, Stand Tall, Hips Forward!*
Each of these things _should _happen naturally when skiing moguls with the correct stacked posture. That said, they are important enough to warrant additional consideration. Standing tall with your hips forward ensuring constant pressure on the tongue of your boot are the things that will allow you to ski the fall line in control and smoothly, looking like a pro.

*Shin Pressure*. What mogul skiers mean when they talk about shin pressure is a constant pressure between your shin and the tongue of your boots. This doesn’t mean to push as hard as you can. Just maintain contact/pressure 100% of the time, in or out of the bumps. This helps to keep you stacked, and keeps your knees in the correct position to comfortably absorb and extend. The minute you feel that you’ve lost pressure to the tongues, do whatever you need to in order to reestablish that pressure. Often driving your hands forward will help you regain this pressure.

*Stand Tall.* You should make sure that, while maintaining shin pressure, you keep your back straight while you ski. If you ski with your back hunched over or arched backwards or you begin to crouch you are losing your balance and moving your CG, thus leaving your stacked posture. You are no longer able to properly control your speed, and it’s difficult to absorb and extend. Keep a tall stance also helps you avoid "hinging," which occurs when you absorb the impact with your back rather than your knees. This is harmful to your skiing, and your back!

Staying forward and stacked is critical. Letting yourself get in the backseat while skiing moguls is like trying to drive a backhoe up a steep grade. When you're going straight up a steep grade in a backhoe, it puts the CG so far back that the front end will pick up off the ground and you will likely tip backward onto the boom/dipper assembly. Similarly, when you're in the bumps, your CG gets too far behind you and your skis shoot out in front of you. When this happens, you tip over backwards just like the backhoe would.

One problem that many mogul skiers must overcome is getting their hips too far back and ending up in the back seat. This causes your skis to shoot out in front of you, and you lose control. It also gives you the urge to crouch. The best way to get your *hips forward *is to think of them leading you down the hill. Now, you don’t want to end up with your hips way out in front of you, but it’s the train of thought that you need to get into. Thrust your hips forward and try to keep them there so that your butt doesn’t end up over your tails. 

*Drills:*
As with most of the topics discussed previously, the place to get used to this is on the groomers. Pick a short section of a medium-pitch intermediate trail, and ski making short radius turns while being conscious the whole time of maintaining constant shin pressure (_feel_ your shins against the tongues of your boots), standing tall, and driving your hips forward. You need to do this as long as it takes until it’s second nature and simply part of the way you ski. You should do it enough that you no longer have to think about it… to the point that if you ever lose shin pressure, or start to crouch, or feel your hips moving backward, you can immediately compensate and fix the problem without any real thought or effort.

*Beginning Absorption and Extension*
Absorption and Extension (A&E) refers to the shock absorber-like motion in which the mogul skier absorbs the moguls and then extends his legs toward the next mogul, and repeating the process continuously for the entire run. It is an integral part of a correctly executed mogul turn. A&E seems to be the most talked about component of good mogul skiing. Unfortunately, many people stress A&E so much that they forget all of the other equally important parts of the sport. If you skipped to this section because you think A&E is all you need to learn, forget it. Believe me, you’ll be doing yourself a HUGE favor if you go back and read through the ealiers sections first. Without the foundation that those sections lay, A&E is worthless. Really. I’m serious.

A&E is one of the most noticed features of mogul skiers. Many people easily associate it with mogul skiing from watching the pros and seeing their knees work like shock absorbers. Most people think that they will never be able to do that. Well, you can. As important as A&E is, it’s not any more difficult than any of the other techniques you’ll practice in the bumps. If you do it enough, you’ll become proficient.

The reason we absorb and extend is the same as the reason cars have shock absorbers: it saves the equipment from excess stress (in this case, you). It maintains a quiet upper body, it reduces jarring, it allows us to ski the fall line, and it looks smooth. It also saves our knees. Most people believe that mogul skiing is bad for your knees. It doesn't have to be! Although there is always inherent risk of knee injury in any type of skiing, mogul skiing doesn't have to be any worse than any other form of alpine skiing. Because we absorb the shock of the moguls, they do not jar our knees. Frankly, skiing moguls well may be easier on your knees than going for a jog or running up a staircase.

When coupled with effective short turns and edging, absorbing and extending keeps the mogul skier at the desired speed. By varying your turn size, edging pressure, and A&E, you can vary the speed that you travel. 

Most mogul skiers, even advanced mogul skiers, often misinterpret the act of absorbing. They interpret it as a pulling of the knees toward the jaw. However, this is not correct. Sitting on a chair, if you pull your knees up to your chin, where is your center of gravity? That’s right… way behind your feet. Absorbing by pulling your knees to your face will immediately throw you into the backseat, a place no mogul skier wants to be!

The correct motion for absorbing a mogul is more like reverse pedaling a bike. As you reach the mogul with your tips, begin to absorb the mogul in your knees, and use a pulling motion of the heels toward the buttocks while driving the tips down upon reaching the crest of the mogul. While doing this, you will make sure to maintain your weight on the balls of your feet. Always, always, always maintain solid shin pressure. This keeps you stacked and balanced, and you will be ready for the next bump. As your CG moves slightly backward, your skis do as well since you are pulling your heels directly to that CG. In essence, you are adjusting your fore/aft balance. Although there is quite a lot of obvious vertical knee motion, it is not caused by pulling the knees up, but by pulling the heels back and up. This pulling back of the heels motion also keeps the skis on the snow as much as possible, a goal of the aspiring mogul skier. You should consciously be sure to drive your tips into the snow as much as possible. Note that it is during the crest of the absorption that lead change begins, leading into the extension.

Extension is often considered far less important than absorption. Not so. After absorbing a mogul, it is crucial that a full extension be part of you short radius mogul turn. If you want to be able to fully absorb the next mogul, the you need to fully extend and drive those tips.

To put this into context, here’s the general idea for skiing a series of 3 moguls: attack the first mogul (we’ll say it’s on the left side of your line) in as straight a line as possible. Absorb the mogul as soon as you reach its crest by pulling your heels toward your buttocks. After absorbing and cresting the mogul, lead change to turn your skis quickly to the left and fully extend into the next mogul. As impact and then crest the bump, absorb as fully as possible pulling your heels to your buttocks, and make a quick right turn fully extending through the trough to the third bump. Repeat the process for absorbing the mogul, and continue your run by repeating these techniques.
Later we’ll revisit A&E and discuss how you can fine-tune it to skiing straighter and faster lines.

*Drills:*
As much as I hate to admit it, the best way to get a feel for (and become comfortable with) A&E is to ski _across_ the fall line on an intermediate-grade mogul run. Slowly ski across the fall line and practice absorbing each bump as you begin to crest it. Extend your skis and repeat until you’ve made it the whole way across the trail. Continue to do this, and each time across the trail, point your skis a little more down the fall line. Soon you’ll be absorbing and extending straight down the trail!

*Where to Aim on the Bump*
So you’re getting the hang of the techniques in the earlier sections and you’re starting to really feel good about the bumps. Now you want to go a little faster and look a little better. Well, part of the key to that is where you aim your tips as you approach the next bump. When skiing bumps slowly, your skis often rotate pretty far across the fall line. As you long to ski a straighter faster line, you need to adjust this.

We have a specific point on the bump that we aim for. That point is not the top of the mogul, not the middle of the side of the mogul, but just several inches up the front corner/side of the mogul. We're attempting to take as straight a path down the fall line as possible, while still maintaining complete control. Sometimes you have to throw your skis across the fall line a little to slow down if your speed begins to get away from you. That's okay, but always strive for fall line. You can adjust this line to be more or less direct. A less direct line would involve and more complete turn, using more of the mogul. A more direct line would mean a minimal turn radius, only really contacting that "corner" of each mogul.

The only way to practice this is to get out there in a bump field, and point your skis for an imaginary mark a foot or two up the front corner/side of the bump. This can be a gradual process. Consider starting out aiming for a point a little over halfway up the bump. Then each run, aim a little lower until you become comfortable with the speed you'll experience. It will take time. Skiing moguls fast can be intimidating at first. But don't give up. Just take your time, and be careful. You'll get there.

*Absorption and Extension: Revisited*
Now that you're aiming for the right spot, taking a straighter and faster path through the bumps, we can take another brief look at how to use A&E effectively.

As you ski faster, the motions involved in A&E must happen faster and automatically. In this case, you will begin absorbing as soon as you hit the bump, and as you reach the apex (highest point) of where you're aiming, you will fully absorb the mogul by driving your tips down over the bump and pulling your heels back. You will continue making your lead change turn to the next bump, and fully absorb, repeating this process. 

If the bumps aren't very large, you may find that you don't need to absorb so much. I will warn you that there is in fact such a thing as too much absorption. Actively fully absorb the bump, but do not force extra absorption afterward. Use that time to extend to the next bump. Remember to keep constant shin pressure, and keep your upper body as completely quiet as possible, and keep your tips in the snow!

*Arm Position and Pole Plants*
Another key aspect of quality mogul skiing is the positioning of your arms and your pole plants. When you're skiing moguls, you want to keep your hands in front as if you are carrying a tray, about shoulder length apart. As you ski, you want your hands to keep driving you forward. Don't let them drop to your sides or get lazy. Keep them out in front and about shoulder width apart, much like you would in your normal alpine skiing form.

Pole planting in the moguls is all about timing and a light touch. The pole should never be used as a weight support during a turn. In fact, if you are poling properly, it is simply a flick of the wrist. All the while, your arms/shoulders should remain quiet with the rest of your upper body.

As you ski the moguls, your pole plants should be placed just on the downhill side of each mogul. Patience truly is a virtue when discussing mogul poling. You don't want to plant on the face (front) of the mogul, because this will get you off balance, pull your arms behind you as you absorb and advance toward the next bump, and will thus create problems with your turn timing, pulling you into the back seat. You don't want to plant on top of the mogul, because this will force you to reach up and will also pull your arm back behind you. You want to aim for a spot just on the downhill side of the bump. Many bump skiers (even good ones) have trouble waiting for the right moment to pole plant. But it is very important that you be patient and wait for the moment when you can effortlessly plant on that downhill side. This will act, then, as your pivot point for the next turn and allow you to plant with a very light touch and a simple wrist movement. Again... do not lean your weight into your pole plant. It is _not_ a speed controller.
I have no specific drills to offer. However, just practice by skiing slowly enough at first to really make sure that pole plant happens just at the right time and on the right spot. Patience truly is a virtue in mogul poling. Slowly increase your speed as you get used to this poling. Soon it will become second nature like many of the other mogul skiing topics. Make sure this quiet, wrist-flicking, hands-in-front poling technique carries over into your flats turns as well. Practice makes perfect!

*Speed Control*
The most voluntary and active method of controlling speed is adjusting the radius of the turn and strength of edging. The more you turn your skis across the fall line, the more your speed will dissipate. Also, the harder you edge, the more speed you'll bleed.

*Aggressive, Athletic Skiing*
One key to skiing bumps well is being aggressive and athletic about your skiing. This doesn't mean you have to ski really fast. This means you need to be willing to push yourself and to ski hard and ski with passion, not being afraid of what's ahead of you.
If you're trying to push your skills further, being over-cautious and over-conservative about your skiing might get you into more trouble than skiing aggressively. You need to be skiing with a purpose, doing everything to the very best of your ability. You need to be unafraid to try running your skis a little straighter or taking the occasional jump off of a bump. You need to always push on down the fall-line, and not be afraid to absorb whatever happens to be in your path (anything that doesn't pose a danger, that is). Timidity will not get you far in the bumps. Be aggressive, be strong, be athletic. That doesn't necessarily mean fast. It means active, athletic skiing. Control is the most important aspect of skiing moguls. If you aren't in control, then you're not skiing well. So be aggressive, go after that line, don't be afraid of a little speed, but always maintain control.

*What to Do in a Bind*
As with any sport, it's possible to find yourself in a bit of a bind. Some of the binds we get into in the bumps are quite interesting. It's important to know how to correct the issue, and—if possible—stay in your line and keep moving.
One of the most common problems mogul skiers face is getting into the back seat or losing balance. In both of these situations, the key is to keep pushing forward. Your first instinct will be to bail, but this might not always be the best solution. Granted, if it's a really serious situation and you need to stop immediately, by all means fall, bail, do what you need to. But it doesn't feel good, and it doesn't look good. Our goal as mogul skiers is to press on as much as possible, as long as we can maintain or regain proper posture and control. So if you find yourself getting in the backseat over your tails, or losing your balance, really push your hips and drive your hands forward as much as you can. Just keep pushing, pushing, pushing and reaching forward, drive those tips, make the turns. Before you know it, you'll find that you're regaining balance and control, and you're still in the same line looking like a pro.

If your speed gets so far out of control that you can no longer reduce it with the techniques discussed in section 11, then you need to try to take a couple of turns farther across the fall line around several bumps to bleed that excess speed. If you cannot do this safely and in control, then you need to do your best to create a safe controlled stop or fall to your side. Do not try to continue skiing if you cannot get your speed under control. Don't hurt yourself or someone else. Do what you need to do to stop. Once you've stopped, take a moment and consider the cause of the excess speed gain. See if you can put the earlier techniques to work to try to avoid finding yourself in a similar situation again. Whatever you do, don't lean back on your tails while turning. This will make it worse, and your skis will shoot out in front of you and you'll land _hard_ on your backside. Not good.

What about losing your line? Sometimes when we get out of control or see a nasty looking obstacle, we either intentionally bail out of our line or end up out of it by accident. If you can regain your control, then try to keep going in another line without stopping. As mentioned earlier... press forward. If the issue throws you around and you're not in solid control, stop and find a new line. 
There are, of course, plenty tough situations we experience in the umps. The general rule of thumb is this: if you are in control or can safely regain control... push everything forward. If you are out of control and cannot regain control, you need to stop and determine why you lost control and make an adjustment based on this finding.

*Forget Everything You Just Read (well... sorta)*
Now that you've consumed all of this information about how to ski bumps, you're going to want to work on everything at the same time. You're going to get to the top of a bump run and have so much going through your head that you will not be able to ski well. Too many skiers try to focus on too much at once, and overthink themselves to failure. As you work on these techniques, take it slow and work on one thing at a time. Don't think about everything else... just master what you're working on. As you do this, the techniques become second nature so that, as you work on the next technique, you no longer even have to think about the previous one; it's automatic.
Don't fall into the trap of trying to work on and think about everything at once. One thing at a time until it's all second nature, and before you know it... you're rippin' lines you never thought you'd be able to ski!

*Don't Forget the Groomers!!!*
As fun as it is to spend all day in the bumps, if you really want to improve your mogul skiing, you need to split up your timely fairly evenly between bumps and groomers. Most of the techniques you'll apply in the bumps should be practiced on the groomers. So when you're out skiing, try to take several runs on the groomers drilling the techniques from earlier sections, and then go apply what you learned on the groomers into the bumps. That's the only way to really learn to ski bumps properly. Even the pros spend way more time on the groomers than you'd ever imagine.


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## cdskier (Mar 27, 2019)

Welcome back Patrick. Damn...that's one hell of a post. I need to read it when I have time to digest it.

Was that Encore with some fencing on it in that video?


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## BushMogulMaster (Mar 28, 2019)

cdskier said:


> Was that Encore with some fencing on it in that video?



Cliffs. We had a bump comp that year on skiers’ right.


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## jack97 (Mar 28, 2019)

Bumpsis said:


> These kind of mogul fields don't exist anymore. These roundish half peach shaped mounds with perfect sinusoidal lines between them seem to be a thing of the past. What we do have is something looking more like bunch a banana shaped ridges that have a lot of perpendicular orientation and a lot of space in between. No rhythm or line, just a slog.
> 
> Two weeks ago I had a vacation week at Sugarloaf. There was a ton of good snow and moguls, but my favorite runs like Ripsaw, Bubblecuffer, Winters Way, Boomauger that usually grow some fabulous lines of moguls all sucked. Weird bumps all over the place.
> I don't know what changed, wide skis? snowboard made lines? Who knows.
> ...



Lots of things changed, I agree that some bumps have taken on weird shapes and we have some wide spacing in between. I will say that you will find a more symmetrical formation on trails where they seed them or they were cut by skiers would can make a short and consistent radius turn.  That's where I will see some who can skip across each trough like some in the vid below. See the guy with the Brady jersey and Harley D emblem, he was a former mogul coach from the Northeast. 







IMO, for the present day mogul skiing, its about versatility as mentioned by BMM. Each trail and resort I go to has it own formation. Sometimes when I see a line where the bumps are tightly spaced and has a smooth rounded front side that's where you can make skip across the trough and make those deflection turns. Maybe its not the length of the trail, but they do exist in a sections.


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## kingslug (Mar 28, 2019)

I really tried to learn the "correct way" to ski moguls and got OK at it but found it difficult to really do it right...then I discovered  "My" way of doing it..so yes my goal is to get down the hill and have some fun doing it. And I like doing it on fat boards. I'm not wiped out at the end of the day. I was wondering where the mogul fields of old went too. Hunter used to set up a B course on Eisenhower and that was difficult. 
My favorite bump run now is Chin Clip..its never ending ..but at least gone are the days when I would come upon a mogul field with no way around and..die. I seek them out now ( except when its all ice). Maybe snowboards and fat skis have changed the fields..what else could have?


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## cdskier (Mar 28, 2019)

BushMogulMaster said:


> Cliffs. We had a bump comp that year on skiers’ right.



Ahh...I'm so used to seeing skiers's right on Cliffs groomed that it didn't even enter my mind as an option.


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## machski (Mar 28, 2019)

kingslug said:


> I really tried to learn the "correct way" to ski moguls and got OK at it but found it difficult to really do it right...then I discovered  "My" way of doing it..so yes my goal is to get down the hill and have some fun doing it. And I like doing it on fat boards. I'm not wiped out at the end of the day. I was wondering where the mogul fields of old went too. Hunter used to set up a B course on Eisenhower and that was difficult.
> My favorite bump run now is Chin Clip..its never ending ..but at least gone are the days when I would come upon a mogul field with no way around and..die. I seek them out now ( except when its all ice). Maybe snowboards and fat skis have changed the fields..what else could have?


Yes, I would say more so than snowboards, fat skis have totally changed the shape of mogul fields.  There is just no way around that fact.  My favorite ski in my current quiver for moguls are my K2 Chargers (grant you, a but stiff but the 74 underfoot allows for close stance and quick, precise turns needed).  I will ski them with my bigger all around skis (Pinnacle 95's and now Mindbender 99's) but I can totally feel the difference and it's huge.  The wider skis if real powdery or super mush spring do ok and I can go at a decent clip, I think mostly because I can climb the sides of the bumps rather than stay in the troughs.  But just be that description, you can see how that technique will shave and straighten out the side of the bumps.  If they are firmer, I revert to trough but always find myself standing ontop of each edge.  They are just too wide to ski in a tight stance.  With the Chargers, I can stay in the trough and never find myself stepping on one ski with the other.  I'm not suggesting fat skis are bad here, just pointing out that they do ski differently in the bumps and even on flat snow.  So fields built up primarily from skiers on fat skis will form up differently than when we were all on long, narrow skis.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using AlpineZone mobile app


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## granite (Mar 28, 2019)

Hips up-ski tips down. Hips down-ski tips up.  Hips up-ski tips down.  Hips down-ski tips up.  Hips up-ski tips down. Hips down-ski tips up. 

Up and down.  Up and down.  Up and down.  Up and down.  Up and down.  Up and down.

Hands in front.  Hands in front.  Hands in front.  Hands in front.  Hands in front.

Knees and feet together.  Knees and feet together.  Knees and feet together.  Knees and feet together.


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## BushMogulMaster (Mar 28, 2019)

kingslug said:


> Maybe snowboards and fat skis have changed the fields..what else could have?



Snowboards, fat skis, and especially in New England, tele skis, have changed the shape of the fields. Along with that, ski technique changed drastically from a partially skidded turn with edge set as the primary turn, to a purely carved turn made possible and accessible to the masses by shaped skis. Then fat skis which allow high speed, wide radius turns over terrain that used to require lots of fast turns. Tele turns tend to "chop off" the downhill side of the mogul, changing their shapes.

But grooming practices across the industry have also changed the presence of moguls, and their shape. The more we groom, the less moguls are available for people to learn. Very few ski resorts leave moguls on lower-level intermediate runs, so skiers are forced to steep, intimidating terrain if they want to learn. With fewer people skiing bumps well, fewer and fewer well-formed bumps appear. With the widespread adoption of winch technology, even the steep terrain was easily groomed. The more a run is groomed, the more firm and icy the base will become. New bumps will not form into nice lines, as the icier patches underneath will shed/sluff the snow, leading it to pile up in odd places. As skiers without the requisite technique try to ski this terrain, they side slip into the piles, turning them into unwieldy mounds in no particular logical order.

I'll spare you the long-form version here, but I did write something about this a few years ago. https://www.saminfo.com/speakout-issues/4241-speakout-where-are-all-the-moguls


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## flakeydog (Mar 28, 2019)

jack97 said:


>



Monoskis.  After seeing the video it is clear we need to bring back monoskis to preserve the bumps.


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## BushMogulMaster (Mar 28, 2019)

kingslug said:


> I really tried to learn the "correct way" to ski moguls and got OK at it but found it difficult to really do it right.



As Glen Plake said in Fistful of Moguls: "Of course it's difficult! Skiing is a difficult sport!" :wink: Yep, skiing moguls well will wipe you out. It's definitely a highly athletic discipline, nothing at all like cruising.

But here's the thing: are you having fun? Are you satisfied with your skiing? If so, then don't sweat it. At the end of the day, unless you're competing, there is no single "correct" way. There are a few _in_correct ways which can lead to injury, out of control skiing, etc., and there are lots of other ways that are less efficient, less "pretty", less xyz, etc., etc. But if you like the way you ski and you're having fun, go for it. I've just found through coaching quite a few bump clinics that once mogul technique really clicks, it shifts the entire skiing paradigm for people, and things that they used to avoid or struggle with are now their favorite part of the sport. So with all that said, remember that skiing should be fun. If an active, intensely athletic and physically demanding form of skiing doesn't appeal to you, ski the terrain and the turns that does appeal to you. But I'd still say fill up that toolbox with different techniques to allow more efficient, terrain-appropriate turns, so that you have them at your disposal when you need them.


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## deadheadskier (Mar 28, 2019)

I was going to say, over grooming is one of the bigger culprits.  Places that leave their bump terrain ungroomed all season tend to have better bumps.  

Wildcat is one of the better Eastern mountains for bumps.  Of their 48 trails about half never see a groomer all season.  Now this definitely limits terrain options during thaw and refreeze events or when there's a natural snow drought, but overall it creates a better product when the ungroomed trails are in play.  The mountain does still have a fair amount of irregularities on many of the bump trails, but that's often due to things like double fall lines that prevent people from skiing in a uniform rhythm when the bumps are forming early season.  You still can find plenty of places with good zippers for 20 bumps or so and then you just readjust your line. 

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app


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## Domeskier (Mar 28, 2019)

I think one of the reasons inexperienced mogul skiers shy away from standard mogul technique is that most of the examples they see (especially on the internet) are experienced rippers gunning it down steep terrain and they assume it's only suited for that type of skiing.  In fact, standard mogul skiing technique facilitates excellent speed control and stability in the bumps.

Junho Seo's youtube channel has a bunch of nice instructional videos illustrating good form and control.  They are in Korean, but non-Korean speakers can still get a lot out of them.  Here's a good example:


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## BenedictGomez (Mar 28, 2019)

BushMogulMaster said:


> But grooming practices across the industry have also changed the presence of moguls, and their shape. *The more we groom, the less moguls are available for people to learn. Very few ski resorts leave moguls on lower-level intermediate runs, so skiers are forced to steep, intimidating terrain if they want to learn. **With fewer people skiing bumps well, fewer and fewer well-formed bumps appear.* With the widespread adoption of winch technology, even the steep terrain was easily groomed. The more a run is groomed, the more firm and icy the base will become.



Preach!

I've speculated this for some years now.  It's a self-fulfilling negative feedback loop.  It's similar to the logic of why I'm worried EPIC & IKON will lead to decreased beginner skiers due to their artificially high single day ticket prices designed not by financial logic, but by a desire to push people onto season passes.  Another negative feedback loop.   My heart hurts a little every time I see a Stratton or Deer Valley post on Facebook about their miles of _"perfectly groomed corduroy"_, as if that's supposed to be a great thing.  Ugh...

 Moguls on lower-angle terrain are so rare today that you NOTICE them in the rare event you find them.  I skied Mont Sutton for the first time last month, and that place does minimal grooming (and I say that in a wonderful way).  There were moguls everywhere!  I was pleasantly surprised & decided to work on some basic mogul stuff on bumped-up intermediate terrain that wasn't very steep.  It was fantastic.   The other thing I noticed about Mont Sutton is there were a lot of really great mogul skiers up there in zee French Canada.  What I dont know is, is it the chicken or the egg?   Are there solid mogul skiers at Mont Sutton because they come there for Sutton's bump terrain, or did they become decent bump skiers because they're forced to ski bumps from being local to Sutton.


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## jaytrem (Mar 28, 2019)

BenedictGomez said:


> Moguls on lower-angle terrain are so rare today that you NOTICE them in the rare event you find them.



I was pleasantly surprised to see some lower angle bumps at all 3 PA Peaks areas that I went to a couple weeks ago.  I figured we would be skiing groomers the whole time, but they were actually real nice bump fields.  Liberty and Roundtop also had some steeper ungroomed stuff.

Further north we can at least always count on the trees having bumps.  Luckily they haven't figured out how to groom them yet.


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## cdskier (Mar 28, 2019)

BenedictGomez said:


> Moguls on lower-angle terrain are so rare today that you NOTICE them in the rare event you find them.



I agree that we need more of this. Belleayre used to have moguls on every type of trail to allow people to progress. Not sure if they still do, but that was great to help build confidence on mellower bumps.

I think Sugarbush is another place that does a pretty decent job of offering some lower-angle bump runs (Lower Domino, Moonshine, Semi-Tough, and even Walt's at times). I'd definitely like to see more of this.


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## kingslug (Mar 28, 2019)

This is why I like Stowe..there are some good intermediate mogul fields lying around. Right at the bottom of liftline is a good small one by the lift tower..lower National..lower Gulch. Even the top of the runs at the Gondi get bumped up. Over at Spruce Upper Smuggs, West Smuggs. Its probably why there are so many good bump skiers there. SB is even better...the kids are phenomenal..even on the super steep icy ones..they don't seem to notice it at all. 
I started at 31 so I don't have any of that early experience. Which is why tree skiing in moguls is my current nemesis now. Mistakes in there can be fatal.


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## jaytrem (Mar 28, 2019)

kingslug said:


> Which is why tree skiing in moguls is my current nemesis now. Mistakes in there can be fatal.



Nah, I'm sure you're skiing the bumps slower in there, so I'd say severe concussion at the worst!

I do have a friend who won't let her kids ski the trees.  I'm always trying to convince her that's the safest place to be. No chance of flying off the trail at 30MPH, and odds are an out of control skier will hit a tree before they hit you.


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## BenedictGomez (Mar 28, 2019)

jaytrem said:


> Nah, I'm sure you're skiing the bumps slower in there, so I'd say severe concussion at the worst!
> 
> I do have a friend who won't let her kids ski the trees.  I'm always trying to convince her that's the safest place to be. No chance of flying off the trail at 30MPH, and odds are an out of control skier will hit a tree before they hit you.



THIS.

Skiing the trees is way safer than skiing intermediate trails. 

If you want to ski extreme levels of danger, try a groomed intermediate trail in the Poconos on a Saturday afternoon.


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## Not Sure (Mar 28, 2019)

I like how Blue will leave “Bailout “ option by grooming part of the trail. Years ago I was at Killington and a intermediate friend unknown to me followed me down Outerlimits .I stopped and looked uphill to see him loose a ski and land on top of a mogul, he got up with a dislocated shoulder. A couple of surgeries later he was still having a rough time.


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## makimono (Mar 28, 2019)

To the point of the original post (I think), the zipper line isn't the only way to ski moguls. Love what Marcus Caston did in his Return of the Turn series bringing back a 1970's hot dog style of skiing - on what...98 width Blizzard Bodacious? Love it!


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## kingslug (Mar 28, 2019)

After seeing Patrol pulling one after another out of the trees last weekend..I'm not so sure...


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## 180 (Mar 28, 2019)

great vid!


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## jaytrem (Mar 28, 2019)

Good stuff, 2 weeks til Squaw!!!  Hope they have a few bumps left for me.



kingslug said:


> After seeing Patrol pulling one after another out of the trees last weekend..I'm not so sure...



That's odd, where was that?  I think in all my years of tree skiing I saw an injury once, and it was relatively minor.


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## Whitey (Mar 28, 2019)

I'm with those who said that once they started not just zipper lining every mogul field and added skiing the tops of moguls too that it really helped with their mogul skiing.   I learned to ski moguls in my early 20s as a ski bum out west.   I would say that's just about the best way to do it.   But obviously that's not an option here.   Back in those days it was all zipper lining and huge extension and retraction.    But now I don't think that's really the best way.   I'll add that I don't think the troughs and tops thing is an either/or situation, it's more like both.   

I was actually contemplating this over a beer after skiing not long ago.   One thought that came to me was that rockered skis, for me, have really made a difference in my ability to ski bump tops.   I find that with rockered I am more willing and able to point those skis at the side of a bump and assume/expect that the tips will absorb the impact, flex, and then allow me to ride up and onto the top of that bump.   Before rockered skis if I tried that on some of those same bumps I probably would have stabbed the tips into the side of those bumps, double ejected, and tomahawked down the slope. 

I linked below a Gopro video I shot a couple of years ago at Cannon on a corn harvest spring day.   If you can get to the bumps on a soft spring snow day - that can really help when you want to work on your technique.  The wet snow naturally slows you down and helps with the impacts.   I'm not the greatest bump skier but the video may help for 2 reasons.  1 - it's a POV look at skiing bumps.   2 - It shows the "troughs and tops" combo.   If you watch at the beginning of the run I am mostly skiing troughs.  That's because they are in good shape and well spaced.   But you'll notice that after I stop & catch my breath and get going again - I start skiing mostly the tops.   That's because on the lower section of the trail the troughs become a bit sketchier and the sides of the moguls are harsher.   So when I hit that I transtioned to the tops of the bumps and finished the run mostly on top of the bumps.   Usually it doesn't work out that way and it's more of a mixed bag throughout a bump run.  So the key is to recognize when the troughs aren't set up well or are beat up, transition to the tops, and then if the troughs get good again you can drop back into a zipper line.   Or mix the two together throughout the run.   Either works.  

Cannon mogul ski vid:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0LU5UDb1bk&feature=youtu.be


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## Not Sure (Mar 28, 2019)

makimono said:


> To the point of the original post (I think), the zipper line isn't the only way to ski moguls. Love what Marcus Caston did in his Return of the Turn series bringing back a 1970's hot dog style of skiing - on what...98 width Blizzard Bodacious? Love it!



Nice 2:00-2:14 for me is the most fun I have on skis , launch and land downside of the bump .Just don’t misjudge your landings.


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## jack97 (Mar 28, 2019)

IMO,there are two ways to ski moguls, a direct line or non a non direct line. Neither one implies staying in the troughs. In cases where the bumps are not seeded, knowing how to approach or ski at the various parts of the bumps is key. Look at how Martin skied the bumps back in the day. And yes, the bumps had different shapes back then but they still had non symmetrical formations. Martin would ski in the trough but he also went to the high side and on the top. And he throws the extra turn or use that hesitation move to line up the approach for the upcoming bump. All this while keeping a rhythm to his decent down the fall line. The challenge is applying those same tactics to present day bump shape and formations.


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## jack97 (Mar 28, 2019)

Along with using those same tactics back then, we can leverage the shape of present day mogul skis. IMO, its another tool that can be used, YMMV.


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## jack97 (Mar 28, 2019)

another example of what present day skis can do.


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## BushMogulMaster (Mar 28, 2019)

jack97 said:


> IMO,there are two ways to ski moguls, a direct line or non a non direct line. Neither one implies staying in the troughs.



Exactly.


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## jaytrem (Mar 29, 2019)

Cool Chuck Martin video, thanks for posting.  I remember seeing him throw a 180-daffy-180 in the old Bud Light Mogul Tour.  Back then it was highly impressive.

As for learning to ski all types bumps.  The best way is to straight line it from point A to point B as fast as possible.  Don't worry about what's in your way, sure you'll take a beating, but eventually you'll just figure it out.  Ideally this should be done before graduating high school, or it may result in a hospital visit.  Also skiing the bumps at their worst (crusty/icy) makes skiing nice ones a lot easier.


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## Blanton (Mar 29, 2019)

Excellent book for those interested in learning from a coach. 

https://www.amazon.com/Invincible-M...l+skiing+book&qid=1553876447&s=gateway&sr=8-2


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## kingslug (Mar 29, 2019)

Well im out in the fields all day today..had to get the Big Bazookas..the 85s just dug in the mush...moguls everywhere..just slow going in them towards the bottom.


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## Domeskier (Mar 29, 2019)

Blanton said:


> Excellent book for those interested in learning from a coach.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Invincible-M...l+skiing+book&qid=1553876447&s=gateway&sr=8-2



Cool.  Thanks.  Just placed an order.


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## CS2-6 (Mar 29, 2019)

Blanton said:


> Excellent book for those interested in learning from a coach



This is interesting.  Being TX-based, I'm always interested in reading material to improve my game and maximize my quality time on the snow.

DiPiro's book really resonated with me, how closely does The Invincible Mogul Skier track with Everything the Instructors Never...?  Not that I'm concerned that the information would be redundant, but I'd be more inclined to pick up Mead's book if it teaches a similar style (I'm assuming it does).


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## Ol Dirty Noodle (Mar 29, 2019)

Having self taught myself the bulk of my specialized skills and knowing how I learn, the way I basically taught myself to ski better was watching people that looked like they knew what they were doing from the lift and then tried analyzing why they were doing what they were before starting a run, and then try to ski the same line the same way.  
Helped immensely and I applied the same logic to moguls and glades, ride lifts with views of the run, find a good skier to watch and then emulate the same technique on my run. Some things worked for me, some didn’t but I never got in over my head that way but I also respected my limits.  For example I would never watch a few people drop Corbett’s and think ok I’ll just do that... well maybe...


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## Teleskier (Mar 29, 2019)

kingslug said:


> So..how do ski moguls? This weekend with the Big Bazookas, and out west I find I can just flash through them 6 at a time rather than hitting each one. Very economical, not as tiring for sure.



Just read this thread now... Odds are this wasn't you, or maybe from the above it was a trial... 

There was this guy on this past Sunday, coming down Lift-Line at Stowe, who appeared to be straight GS'ing all the moguls by skimming over the tops of them, at tremendous high speed. Being thrown all over the place in barely controlled 'out of control'.

The other locals and I on the chair never seen anything like it. 

He also had a buddy behind him who was trying to ski moguls more 'normally', but was obviously pushing himself "too fast" to try to keep up at that insane "race over the bump tops" rate. 

Is that the "flash over them" style you mean? Was that you by any chance? (Probably not). Wished I had the phone out to take a video. It was crazy and impressive and crazy again, all at the same time. Felt bad for his friend though.


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## kingslug (Mar 29, 2019)

Nope not me..never out of control..plus i was with my wife...who would be very far behind me. Im very aware of everyone around me..my biggest fear is hitting someone..so i never let that ever become a possibility...i have seen people..including today flying down the hill so fast they would have no chance to stop...
Today was a sloooooow day..very sticky. 
I did finaly get into middle Starr which was a mogul fest.


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## Teleskier (Mar 29, 2019)

In reading through the posts, all of the videos here seem to show 'normal' (if advanced) mogul skiing.

Whereas what the Lift-Line guy was doing, was not turning at all and just skimming over the mogul tops in a straight-down-the-hill GS race line.



urungus said:


> If I turn on the top of a mogul and in the process some snow gets pushed into the trough, am I guilty of destroying the mogul ?



I would say no. That's how the 'mogul master' at Aspen taught me, saying this is how "you can keep skiing moguls and beating the young kids in mogul races at my age." I think he was in his upper 70's. Crazy smooth style. 

But then again...



BushMogulMaster said:


> Tele turns tend to "chop off" the downhill side of the mogul, changing their shapes.



... I'm guilty of this too. But I'm just getting down the hill by doing what my skis want to do...


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## jack97 (Mar 29, 2019)

CS2-6 said:


> This is interesting.  Being TX-based, I'm always interested in reading material to improve my game and maximize my quality time on the snow.
> 
> DiPiro's book really resonated with me, how closely does The Invincible Mogul Skier track with Everything the Instructors Never...?  Not that I'm concerned that the information would be redundant, but I'd be more inclined to pick up Mead's book if it teaches a similar style (I'm assuming it does).



I've been meaning to purchase Mead's book ever since it got on my radar a couple of weeks ago, this thread made me pull the trigger. 

  As for DiPiro's book, its a great book since it breaks the myths or beliefs brought forth by the ski instructor crowd. The latter cater to skiers who do not seek skiing a direct line in the moguls. I'm ok with instructors teaching non direct lines however its the misconceptions they foster that troubles me.

IMO, DiPiro's book provides the basics of moguls skiing to get one started but does not go into details of more advance techniques. Although he mentions some, the depth is lacking and I believe this was done purposely since he does believe newbies can get overloaded with too much information at the starting line. Its possible that his book is now outdated since it was published in 2005. Things are always evolving and competitive mogul skiing is no different, Dale Begg Smith blew away the field when it came to turns during the 06 Games in Torrino. That forced a lot of the competitors to ski more in the troughs or to change their strategy. I'm always game for reading anything related to mogul skiing.


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## kingslug (Mar 29, 2019)

Studied the shape of the moguks today..very chopped sides..very hard to get a rythym in there..


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## flakeydog (Mar 29, 2019)

Bumps here today were everywhere. It was like skiing through glue in slow motion but bumps nonetheless

Edit: so sticky that even the upside down trails were fine


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## dlague (Mar 30, 2019)

So in the past, some people here posted about how they liked skiing frozen bumps.  So at Vail, I opted to give them a try.  I did not like frozen bumps in NE and it turns out I do not like them in CO.  Yesterday was our first refreeze of the season with pretty warm temps the day before followed by a cold front, made for teeth chattering skiing.  Really needed to drive the edges and it was fast.

Back to frozen bumps - only skied one run and that was interesting.  So never liked scraped off bumps either but better than frozen.



Sent from my SM-G930V using AlpineZone mobile app


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## Blanton (Mar 30, 2019)

CS2-6 said:


> This is interesting.  Being TX-based, I'm always interested in reading material to improve my game and maximize my quality time on the snow.
> 
> DiPiro's book really resonated with me, how closely does The Invincible Mogul Skier track with Everything the Instructors Never...?  Not that I'm concerned that the information would be redundant, but I'd be more inclined to pick up Mead's book if it teaches a similar style (I'm assuming it does).



Mike’s book is substantially higher level.  It’s also much more current in terms of approach.


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## kingslug (Mar 30, 2019)

Watched a kid bail into a mogul field at high speed today..guess he didnt know it was a mogul field as he almost bounced into the trees..where he would have..not gone home...he did well though..catching himself before he ate shit..scared the hell out of me..


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## jack97 (Mar 30, 2019)

kingslug said:


> Studied the shape of the moguks today..very chopped sides..very hard to get a rythym in there..



When you're picking up to much speed in the troughs, get on the top and slide down the side. A more advance move is to skip across the chopped side if that is along the path of the line. Martin does that skip a lot in the vid attached, IMO, it best to watch that vid at 1/4 speed to watch those moves he uses. Same with any vid from Jean Luc Brassard..... amazing vids.


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## kingslug (Mar 30, 2019)

I keep trying to get the rythym i see the good skiers get in there..Goat us a pretty steep run..and my favorite.. its pretty banged up in there..i end up going wide and stopping at the edge to regroup...


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## jack97 (Mar 30, 2019)

Don't try to emulate other skiers. Work on speed control, without it everyone ends up on the edge to regroup. Trying to control your speed on a steep run is best learn on a lower angle run. A general freestyle drill to control speed is to go down a run moderate bump run at 3/4 speed.


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## deadheadskier (Mar 30, 2019)

The drill I used to do when learning as a kid was to simply look at a series of five bumps.  Visualize what I needed to do to execute those five bumps perfectly.  Ski those five bumps then stop.  Pick the next five and repeat.  Once I could nail five moguls, I'd expand it out to ten.  And so on and so forth

Sent from my XT1635-01 using AlpineZone mobile app


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## CS2-6 (Mar 31, 2019)

deadheadskier said:


> Ski those five bumps then stop



This is a great drill that does two other things: 1) forces you to move at a slow, steady, controlled pace (like jack97 suggested), 2) shows you that you can stop anywhere, anytime with good form, which goes a long way psychologically towards letting you be comfortable with speed.

I'm sure it's been said before in this massive thread, but the biggest tip for ski control for me is to actively maintain as much ski-to-snow contact as possible.  If your skis are in the air, you are speeding up.


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## kingslug (Mar 31, 2019)

jaytrem said:


> Good stuff, 2 weeks til Squaw!!!  Hope they have a few bumps left for me.
> 
> 
> 
> That's odd, where was that?  I think in all my years of tree skiing I saw an injury once, and it was relatively minor.



Last saturday and sunday.  I think the windblown crust was catching people...patrol was lining up sleds.


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## jack97 (Mar 31, 2019)

dlague said:


> So in the past, some people here posted about how they liked skiing frozen bumps.  So at Vail, I opted to give them a try.  I did not like frozen bumps in NE and it turns out I do not like them in CO.  Yesterday was our first refreeze of the season with pretty warm temps the day before followed by a cold front, made for teeth chattering skiing.  Really needed to drive the edges and it was fast.
> 
> Back to frozen bumps - only skied one run and that was interesting.  So never liked scraped off bumps either but better than frozen.
> 
> ...



I 've been skiing at your old stompin ground, Pat's Peak. Hurricane is a great bump trail, yeah it has funky bumps at the entrance but the double fall line at skier's right is great. The troughs can get deep but they really didn't develop this year because we had that rain that followed a snow storm. They did an expansion recently but never explored it. Maybe they will allow bumps to develop in a low angle trail. IMO, they should because Hurricane is a 'you either have or don't' proposition, not a place to develop the skill and coordination to ski bumps. 

As for 'icy' bumps, to state the obvious, some skis have better grip than others. Not sure about the latest trends for other skis but for mogul ski, I found that the models with more material underfoot holds a better edge. Metal is a big no-no in these skis so the only thing to make a ski torsional rigid is to make the underfoot thicker and taper the tip and tail to a thinner dimension. The latter allows the tip to flex when loading the front part of the ski but still keeps a solid grip underfoot. As much as I love my Twisters, it under performs on hard pack to hard granular bumps. And getting to the bump field when the only access is a steep boiler plate trail becomes 'interesting' to say the least.


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## Domeskier (Mar 31, 2019)

jack97 said:


> As much as I love my Twisters, it under performs on hard pack to hard granular bumps. And getting to the bump field when the only access is a steep boiler plate trail becomes 'interesting' to say the least.



Do you know which current production models have a rep for performing well on hard pack and ice?  I found my Twisters to perform a lot better in icy bumps than my Hart F17 STs, but maybe that's attributable to the softer tips.


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## jack97 (Mar 31, 2019)

When the bumps are hard granular and the formation is spread out, I can feel the Twister loosing it underfoot and prevents me from approaching my next target the way I planned. That said, I have a old Volkl rebellion, 89/63/78 and is beefier underfoot and gives me better precision in skiing to the next bump,  the flex pattern is still close to the twister, soft tip but a stiffer tail. The Elan Bloodline, 89/63/77 feels the same as the Volkl but it has a flat tail and flairs outward, that tail can catch the side to backside and throw off the approach to the face of the upcoming bump. What I found was to release a little sooner and that resolved the tail catch problem. I recall seeing a 2018 Bloodline model, it has a Cameo topsheet and may still be available. Of all three skis, the Twister does have the softest tip to slow you down and can pull you around really quick.

As for others, never heard skier's feedback but from vendor's description, the Rossi Hero and Faction Mogul claims to be stiff. Both skis are on the narrow side, 92/63/81 and 95/61/84 respectively and not wide as the Harts. My thinking is that its like the Volkl and Elan models, beefier under foot so the tip can still be soft.


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## Domeskier (Mar 31, 2019)

Thanks!  Spring bumps are awesome, but there’s nothing like icy east coast bumps to expose flaws in your technique. Also good for working on speed control.


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## Teleskier (Apr 1, 2019)

*"Long Skis Only" in moguls*

Timely 'old history' article given our 'what snow devices do what to moguls' discussion...

https://www.parkrecord.com/news/way-we-were-long-skis-only-please/


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## Harvey (Apr 1, 2019)

kingslug said:


> For those who  have never seen upper Goat..this is a good shot.



Theo on Goat!


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