Before
there were terrain parks, before there were half pipes,
before there was freestyle, there were moguls. Besides
racing, moguls were the first technically challenging
skiing activity that skiers could do to improve their
technique and compete with each other.
When I was a tween beginning
to develop my mogul skills there was one skier who
ruled our Midwestern ski hill. His name was Julio,
but he was known as Julio the Mexican mogul masher.
He had mastered the art of skiing the moguls with
excellent form, technique and style. He wore a bright
yellow puffy jump suit with black patches on the knees
to highlight his motion through the bumps. And it
worked. He was awesome. Guys wanted to be him and
girls wanted to be with him. He would have a good
run sucking up the bumps and finishing with a jump
on the last mogul. It was usually a helicopter (a
360) or a daffy or an iron cross. Watching him ski
was inspiring, I wanted to ski the bumps.
Moguls are such a challenge
because the terrain is constantly changing, unlike
groomed runs where it’s easier to control the
size of your turn radius. While in the bumps you’ll
have to pick a line, staying in control of your skis
while making turns in time as the bumps come. When
you have control of your skis while in the bumps,
others will watch with respect and appreciation. Read
our tips below on gaining better control of your skis
while in the moguls.
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The
key to skiing the bumps with confidence is to pick
your line. Choose your line based on the snow conditions
and looking the mogul slope over and choosing the
line that matches your skill level.
