I know that skiing the moguls may be intimidating at first, but the sooner you try them, the sooner you will have a new favorite run on the mountain. I don’t actually remember learning to ski moguls because I was 2 at the beginning of my skiing career and my first mogul run probably came soon afterwards. However, I do remember skiing with my family at Jay Peak in northern Vermont and begging my dad to cut over to the bottom of the bump run that was next to the easier run that my mom, dad, brother and I had started on. This memory inspired my first ahlivv How To Tip for soon-to-be bump skiers.
For your first attempt at skiing the moguls, identify a blue square or green circle trail on which moguls have formed. Get yourself into position at the very bottom of the trail so there are only a handful of bumps in front of you before they end. This way, you only have to survive a few moguls on your before the relief of a groomed trail.
The basic body position for mogul skiing:
* Eyes up.
* Hands in front of your body; even when pole planting, don’t let your hands drop.
* Chest up.
* Knees bent, with pressure on the tongues of your ski boots and feet underneath your body. This is the balanced or stacked body position and your feet, hips and shoulders should all line up.
As you stand in perfect position, inspect the four moguls to find the line that you are going to ski. You want to follow the ruts between the big mounds of snow without falling too deeply into them. Imagine the path that a bucket of water would take if it were poured down the line of moguls. Ski toward the first bump and absorb the shock by bringing your knees up in front of you as you pull your feet back to your butt in a reverse bike pedaling motion. Next, complete this motion by extending your legs and pushing the tips of your skis down the backside or downhill part of the mogul. You will be ready for the next bump if you keep your upper body squarely down the fall line and have a good reaction time!
Don’t give up. Practice makes perfect and once you can ski moguls you will be able to conquer any feature the mountain throws at you.
Ski ya on the slopes,
