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Skiing the moguls

kingslug

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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.
 

Domeskier

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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.
 

deadheadskier

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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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chuckstah

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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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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.
 

Not Sure

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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 .
 

deadheadskier

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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

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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.
 

tnt1234

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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...
 

Not Sure

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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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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

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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.

:dontknow:
 

Griswold

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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.

:dontknow:

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

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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.
 

tnt1234

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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.
 

kingslug

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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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