Mogul skill building: Speed control

Goal: Taming moguls
Level: Expert
Suggested terrain: Easy moguls on a slope well below your ability (easier)
Author: Suzy Chase-Motzkin
Summary: Mogul competitors want to ski their runs fast and the wannabes try to keep the ski flat and pivot their feet. But the truly great mogul skiers carve and accelerate out of each turn--masters of directing the acceleration.

Photos and Videos coming soon!

IMPORTANT! Understanding our approach and philosophy is important if you'd like to successfully use the drills in Ski Smarts
 ... read more.

It is always wise to begin skiing a mogul run slowly. You can gradually pick up speed as you progress down the run.
  • The moment you feel as though you're losing control, stop, rather than continue while you're out of balance.

It is a good idea to scrub speed by carving a turn on the uphill side of the mogul. If you slam down into the trough you might stop too abruptly, subjecting your body to unnecessary pounding and your ski to the possibility of a bent tip.

Avoid "Bailout" moguls that usually form in the second half of a mogul run. Inexperienced mogul skiers start off in control, but as they proceed down the bump run, they pick up speed and lose it. That's all OK, but as they lose control, they carve longer and longer moguls that eventually reflect the high, and almost out of control, speeds that formed them. You can spot "Bailout" moguls by the flat area just after them--formed by hockey stops.

  • Practice making hockey stops before you enter the bump run. When you want to slow yourself smoothly, gradually increase the edge bite with each turn until you have slowed yourself.

Print this out for future reference and remember to have fun!