Time to turn back?!

scapula wrote:hey Iceman you are coming to Morzine next week arnt you?
I was up the Fornet yesterday, some moguls forming but all soft ..good place to learn!

yep there this weekend for the week. May give it a look , not the wall!!

Glad i am notthe only one that does not like them then?!

Turn on top, round them?

Ranchero_1979 wrote:
Before trying to ski moguls hard I first take a steady run just focusing on pivot of skis.

Basically with modern skis, we now spend large percentage of time utilizing skis edges (shape), and high high angulation to perform carving turns. Even if there will need to be a element of pivot to control speed on steep slopes.

Therefore we start to lose the art of pivot. Chose a not to steep slope, focus on a single object (helps with separation) and go down pivot, pivot. Requires (flat feet). Suprising how strange it feels 1st time. After few 100m will be getting hang of it. Focus on keeping body downhill and getting skis perpendicular to slope in each direction.

Then when you hit the moguls, same skills will control your speed and let you flow down them.

That's a great observation, and good advice. I love the term "buttery" to describe the style of skiing.

Moguls are great! They are challenging but once you've cracked them the rest of skiing becomes much easier too and your overall form improves greatly. You won't be an all mountain skier if you can't ski moguls. You approach moguls by absorbing the tops and extending into troughs. Knees will be getting a work out but if you anticipate the bumps and stay proactive rather than reactive it's actually easier on knees than you'd expect. Make sure you absorb with your legs and not the body - bring up you knees instead of bending down towards them. Turn by pivoting your skis on top of the mogul once tips and tails of your skis are off the snow and slide down its opposite side. Make sure both of your skis are in contact with snow at all times. If you are lifting your inside ski in the end of the turn moguls will expose it. Also, if you tend to rotate your shoulders moguls will likely punish you. And make sure your shins are touching tongues of your boots, no sitting back in bumps. So as Ranchero said there are things to focus on during your piste skiing. And take a mogul lesson or two. You will soon start seeking moguls rather than avoid them.

Really useful stuff that guys & gals.

Is it one of those things that is easier with a bit of speed rather than chugging along slowly?

It all sounds a lot simpler than I seem to make it. May have a couple of private lessons on the moguls and see where I get to.

Warren Smith has some useful tips http://www.warrensmith-skiacademy.com/technique-videos/moguls-videos/ If you get going too fast the skis will get away from you and you'll end up on your you know what. They are much easier to ski when they soften up in March; they have lost a few teeth by then and don't bite so hard.

i am going tomorrow. unless i get lost i can't wait until March ;-)

I'd consider myself a reasonably good mogul skier, it's one of those things that takes a lot of trying and eventually if will click. I too would recommend the Warren Smith DVDs, loads of exercises to help you.
My knees have taken a pounding getting to where I am now, so much so I steer clear for the first could of days of a holiday, later in the week I'll get struck in.

I love a good mogul field, and will seek them out like Verbier-ski-bum says. I love the challenge but I also like to feel like I've done a bit of exersize at the end of a ski day.

I don't tend to analyse what I do and how I ski, sometimes I go around them, some times I go over them but mostly I tend to tackle them in the way that Verbier-s-b explains.