Mogul Skiing: Intermediate Joe's Dilemma

Joe came to the ski school frustrated by the moguls, which is typical for most skiers. He wanted to learn the proper technique, and after analysis of a few turns, his problem was obvious--he never really learned the fundamentals-- simple balance. His problem wasn't that he didn't have the correct technique; it was pretty good. He just never learned to start the turn in a forward balanced position (the correct position feels like the weight is directly over the toes). As with all skiing, the moguls absolutely demand a forward position. You must be able to drive the tips of the skis into the low spot of the coming bump. The goal is to be aggressive and stay with the terrain. Keep yourself perpendicular to the slope. When you are on top of the bump, you can stay straight up, but as the bump rounds on the backside and increases the pitch of the slope, you too have to pitch forward to remain at a right angle to the bump. Joe was finding himself in the back seat every time he went over a mogul. More specifically his hips were behind his heels. It seemed like his skis were shooting out in front of him and leaving him behind. He found he couldn't control his speed. The back position (with the weight over the heels and buttocks behind the feet) doesn't give control. The skis seem a million miles long and impossible to turn from the back-end. Joe is like most bump skiers. He has to learn the fundamental of starting the turn in a forward position and as you go over the bump, be ready to drive and cut. Try it out while going slow--possibly on the groomed slopes. Then as skill increases, your speed and terrain difficulty can also increase.

Skiing has many different faces; moguls, groomed runs, powder, chopped powder and crud snow. All these are different genres in skiing require different techniques. Mogul skiing is probably the hardest of all skiing conditions. In my opinion, people taking mogul lessons should do it on the smaller moguls, not on the ones that just kicked your butt! You have to be a good skier to attempt the bumps. Remember the old adage, "you have to learn to walk before you can run?" Well, it applies here verbatim. You must have great balance, or as ski instructors like to say, "great dynamic balance," (balance while in motion). Further, the skis must be kept together. The pros look like their skis are glued together. The truth is, only high level intermediates make good bump skiers, because they can ski on that small platform. In the world of bump skiing, balance and athleticism is king, and if you have both, rest assured you will be a great bump skier with practice!

Skiing with the skis together is the biggest goal of an aspiring bumper. If you can't do this with the feet are apart, one ski will be in the hole of the bump and the other will be on the top. This is an awkward position to maintain balance, and I hope you agree! But, on the other hand, if the skis are together, balance can be easily maintained by using the skis as one platform, and moving the skis always simultaneously.

Once an easy bump field is mastered, bigger turns can be made while absorbing the bumps. Think of your head as touching an imaginary ceiling while skiing. When you go over the bump don't hit your head. The bumps have to be absorbed by bending at the knees and bending slightly at the waist.

Here is a fun way to teach the moguls:

Dis your buddy or war games in the moguls: an approach to teaching

The technique methodology is called, "dis your buddy," and it is a great way to understand the principle of mogul skiing. Think of the mogul as an enemy who has just fallen and you want to dis him by spraying him on snow. (The word dis is a colloquialism meaning disrespect, yea I know you knew that!). Use the hockey stop with both skis together. The only difference is that the hockey stop now has to be made in a smaller space. As you come within a foot of the bump, spray it. This spraying hockey stop is the brake; to go slower through the bumps, spray more. Faster? just ease up on the edges. Futhermore, an aggressive pole plant is made while the body is in the down hockey stop position. This move is the final coup de gra. Pretend the bump is some enemy on the ground and the pole plant stab is the final 'dis'. The pole plant is the stabilizer and readies the body for the next mogul. Next, turn around the bump while absorbing and pivoting your skis over the top of the bump. Stay forward and it will be easier to initiate and keep the skis together. The skis have to follow the trough or "low line" of the bumps and not go over the tippy top, but just to the side of it. When skiing any bump field, stop at the top and pick the line through them. Look for the path of least resistance. Think of the line as the path a stream of water would take down the hill. It would splash up against the first bump, go around, splash up against the next one and so on -- this is the line. A series of splashes can be equated to the hockey stop into the bumps one at a time. Control must be learned at a slower speed, and as the skill improves, you can go faster. Take the bumps in control, only the moron goes speeding through the bumps in a kamikaze fashion. Of course, that's not to say the guys flying through the bumps in control are morons--they're heros. The only differnce between you and them is that you look like you are out of control!

Mogul skiing takes a lot of lower body movement. The knees must bend and react to the moguls to keep the balance. Remember how the pros skied the moguls on TV? Remember how their upper body didn't seem to move at all. The trick in skiing that transcends all genres is balance. The upper body doesn't move at all. The only time it does is during the blocking pole plant and even then the movement is only slight.

Alpine Skiing School section in english version of WWW.SKI.BG is based on
"A Guide To Becoming An Expert: From First Time To A Lifetime"
by John Mukavitz Copyright © 1998