How to Ski the Moguls

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.

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.

Slalom racers are taught to look 3 gates a head so they're prepared for what's to come. The same goes for skiing the bumps. Look at the moguls ahead of you so you're prepared for what's to come. If your head is down looking at your feet, you may become unbalanced. You're not looking at what is to come and the moguls will come at you too fast.

To ski moguls you need to stay in control by absorbing the bumps. If your body is too ridged the mogul will control you. To stay in control, ski with your upper body facing downhill, bend your knees and use your legs as shock absorbers. Suck up the bumps as you ski over the mogul by bending your knees, and flex your knees and extend your legs tall on the backside of the mogul. Use the extension to turn to the next mogul.

Just as we’ve stated in the intermediate & expert sections of the web site, keep your hands in front of you. If your let a hand drop behind you can easily loose your balance and fall backward.

It’s easy to gather speed while in the moguls. If you pick a narrow line you'll have a tight turning space. Control your speed by setting your edges. Too much speed can lead to loss of control. The sideslip and hockey stop are great techniques for controlling speed.

When starting in the bumps, keep your speed easy and comfortable. Pick moguls on a gentle slope. Moguls have often been located on a black diamond rated trail. In recent years many resorts have added small sections of moguls on the blue square slopes for those who are learning the bumps. These sections are narrow so they are easy to step out of if you get in trouble. If you own a helmet wear it while in the moguls.