What's your strategy for skiing bumps/moguls?

Lot's of people look down that steep pitch, peppered with moguls in fear and run away: https://youtu.be/YBtN4gRtXOU

What is your strategy for skiing bumps? Do you take it slow and make your turn on the peak of the mogul, or try to stay in the trough, or just wing it and and pray you don't crash? I'm not a seasoned bump skier, my legs are always sore after making it down a steep mogul pitch (back-seat?), and I'm trying to get better. I was hoping to join a ski camp this year to work on this, but with coronavirus that's a no go, so I am going to have to teach myself lol! All hail the bump gods!

Avoid.

Pm Rontele for expert bump skiing advice.

Seems like the bumps under the chairlift are always nicer. Sack up! :D

Series of linked recoveries at high speed.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Look around.
Make sure nobody is watching.
Commence doomed attack while sitting in the backseat.
Lose courage.
Shoot out of the field sideways on one ski.
Look at my skis like there is something wrong with them.

Stay out of the troughs and off the tops... keep your tips pointed downhill and carve the shoulders of the bumps. Think where would water flow if it was running down the hill and follow that line. Find a ramp and air into the next good line. Cat tracks for bigger air and tricks. Thanks Mary Jane.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Abol98

Look around.
Make sure nobody is watching.
Commence doomed attack while sitting in the backseat.
Lose courage.
Shoot out of the field sideways on one ski.
Look at my skis like there is something wrong with them.

---

It's like you've known me all my life.

Pick a line for the first few bumps till you develop a rhythm. Stay in the front. Practice different turn shapes in the bumps (GS, SL, zipperline etc.). Ski different parts of the bumps. Follow the sunshine over the bumps for soft snow, ski them when they are covered in pow, slap your skis through ice bumps. Jump from one to another. Find a tele setup and make tele turns in the bumps. Ski them slow with your boots loose (but be careful). Follow someone better than you through them... It'll click.

just go out and ski them

Wait for them to be covered with 2 feet of pow

Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by shera

Sack up! :D

---

pretty much this

Shera's back. WOOT! WOOT!

When folks would ask me in the line or on the chair what was in my backpack the answer was always 'It's my mogul avoidance kit'.

Bumps are God's way of telling you there's too many skiers on the mountain.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ntblanks

It's like you've known me all my life.

---

Ditto, you stalking me??

Mogul runs are where I go to rest when my legs are cramping from hot laps. You get a little break each time you de-weight and the turns are too quick to get tired - unlike holding a long series of g-force turns on edge.

Your mileage may vary.

There’s a 6 page bump skiing thread just an inch lower down. Any particular reason OP is avoiding it?

Keep your eyes focused 2 turns ahead of where your skis are (don't watch your skis as you navigate the bumps because that technique leads to instant face plant). Stay centered on your skis with a solid stance. Try to identify and follow the Fall Line as you pick your route down the hill. Learn to ski all 3 places on a bump (top, bottom and sides of the bumps). Work to use the shape of the bumps to carve your turn (on the Top, bottom, and sides of the bumps). Focus on keeping your upper body quiet. Reach down the fall line aggressively with your pole plants to start your turns. Keep your upper body square to the Fall Line as your skis cut back and forth beneath you. Use your legs to absorb the up and downs of the undulating ground under your skis (or the bumps will use your head as a hammer ...leading to loss of balance, disorientation, and face plant).

CONTROL YOUR SPEED!!! CONTROL YOUR SPEED, CONTROL YOUR SPEED! As you learn to navigate bumps, speed control is critical. Go slow to begin with,until you can feel rhythm in your turns. Only when you have control of your rhythm, should you start working on increasing speed. There are people who just bash on the tops of bumps and fly over the other bumps. Most of them are in their 20s and won't be doing that in their 30s because their knees will refuse. Focus on being smooth through your turns. I am in my 60's and I still enjoy bumps despite my battered knees. Smooth is the long term goal.

As for motivation.... bumps will teach you how to cut quick, short radius turns on all aspects of terrain. Powder days are a thing of the past (think fat skis and high speed lifts). Once you get through your 2 or 3 Powder runs after the lift opens and the slopes are shredded... you can still find lots of good snow hiding in the bumps. Powder Snow frequently will drift and fill the troughs between the bumps. This can be demanding to play with. But once you get competent, bumps are frequently some of the best skiing on the hill.

People mostly avoid bumps. As a result, you get to have bump runs all to your self, while all the other people on the mountain are struggling in the chaos of crowd skiing mank. Bumps can be very rewarding on those CROWDED, CHAOTIC MANK DAYS.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by frorider

There’s a 6 page bump skiing thread just an inch lower down. Any particular reason OP is avoiding it?

---

I did not see it... can you link? An inch lower down (when I just checked) is "Hellllloooooooo" and the Tahoe thread.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by snojones

..don't watch your skis as you navigate the bumps because that technique leads to instant face plant.

---

My face makes an excellent brake in the bumps.

I’m no expert and only recently learned to enjoy bump even as a jong.

Two drills helped: pivot slips and hockey stops. Go down first bump and make a hokey stop. Pivot slip to/around another bump, go down, hokey stop. Repeat and try to find a rhythm by looking for your next turn.

Also, buy red skis.


Edit: stupid hokey vs hockey. I blame autocorrect

As much as I welcome the return of the Princess of Pow, why do a lot of these new threads seem like DSM alii or something?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by joecoffee

I did not see it... can you link? An inch lower down (when I just checked) is "Hellllloooooooo" and the Tahoe thread.

---

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...hool-Bump-Fags ..

Shoulders square to the fall line, stay mostly forward with possible exception in unweight, shoot for skipping around the tops of the bumps with the occasional troughride.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

why do a lot of these new threads seem like DSM alii or something?

---

Oy. Good thing I can easily slather my keyboard in off-brand hand sanitizer.

Isn’t there a video somewhere of a mag (huckwheat?) skiing a bump run at snowbird on big skis?

Seeing the line is as important as technique. Follow someone good.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Asspen

Seeing the line is as important as technique. Follow someone good.

---

This is true, but why does this remind me of this scene:

"Your left arm is straight, but you're not keeping your head down. Always try to hit through the ball."

"I've got to work on my game."

"No, no, no. Don't think of it as work. The whole point is just to enjoy yourself."

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by detrusor

Series of linked recoveries at high speed.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

---

what an excellent metaphor for life.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Buster Highmen

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...hool-Bump-Fags ..

Shoulders square to the fall line, stay mostly forward with possible exception in unweight, shoot for skipping around the tops of the bumps with the occasional troughride.

---

Thanks for the link and advice. I wanted this thread to talk about bump skiing technique, whereas that thread appeared to me as an homage to bump skiing and the good 'ol days.

I think stance matters more than line choice. Look at the upper body on the skiers in the video. So quiet, even when they're hauling through big bumps. Line choice doesn't matter if can't keep your torso steady and pointed downhill. I think a good way to find that balanced, compact, centered stance is to go straight through smaller low angle bumps. Try to "look" like the skiers in the vid from the waist up while absorbing with your legs. When you find a position you can maintain start mixing in some pivoting and carving.

When I was in race camp at Stowe... in the freaking 80's... the coach taught us that one of the keys is to lift up your tails as you crest the bumps.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lvovsky

I’m no expert and only recently learned to enjoy bump even as a jong.

Two drills helped: pivot slips and hokey stops. Go down first bump and make a hokey stop. Pivot slip to/around another bump, go down, hokey stop. Repeat and try to find a rhythm by looking for your next turn.

Also, buy red skis.

---

You do the hokey pokey
And you turn yourself around
That's what it's all about

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by evasive_MT

You do the hokey pokey
And you turn yourself around
That's what it's all about

---

God I hope that's not what it's all about.

Not a bump skier. My closest ski to a bump ski is an OG 186 Legend Pro. While I’m kind of in the avoid them crowd, there are times it is the best skiing on the hill. I found pitch makes a difference. While it is hard to find, moderate pitched bump runs that require a commitment (like due to early season conditions you can’t escape through some trees to a groomer or easier run) offer the best bumps to learn on. You want the bumps to be made by people who ski bumps well and Ke’e the tips in the fall line. Due to a moderate pitch it is easier to scrub speed on your turns.

I play it like chess. Three to five turns ahead. I’ll ski the same line repeatedly to get my flow. And then try to zen ski it.

I had a bunch of fun on chair 11 at Kirkwood during the drought. The only groomer did not connect to three bump runs that formed. They are typically just groomers and the upper portion is fairly low angle. You could cruise through there and really ski the bumps fast and aggressively. As the pitch steeped through what is typically a race course it was just steep enough to make solid bumps across the slope. Low snow coverage kept those who would short turn their bumps away and these perfect lines developed.

Would repeat (fixed grip lift was whelp) until tired and then you go to another lift and rail groomers for a few runs and then return.

Also, I just follow my 9 year old these days.

Quiet upper body, eyes four turns ahead picking your line, not looking down. Hands in front, shoulders square to the horizon, press the tongues of your boots, absorb the terrain with your knees, tail-wash your skis for speed control, drive your ski tips. All the action, other than pole plants, should be below the waist. Pole plants are just wrist-flicks, not some exaggerated arm movement like milking a giraffe. Stay off the tops unless you're airing, don't get stuck in the troughs. Try to hit the front quadrant/side of the mogul shoulder. This also helps in speed control. Learn to develop your line and a rhythm at slower speeds, work on that, and speed will come as you get better and more confident. Lastly, as Shera said (welcome back!), sack up. Go ski bumps, try things, fall, learn from it, and keep working on it. Next lastly, in case I missed, keep a quiet upper body and work your body from the waist down.

I love a good soft spring slushy bump run. Growing up skiing Tahoe/Bachelor we couldn’t wait for spring bump season. So fun having a crew of rippers chasing each other down a bump line hearing your buddy yelling to speed up as he’s right on your tails or visa-versa. Sadly very few around here can ski for shit so a good bump line is a unicorn. Due to that my bump protocol is to zipper the short sweet line then air out to the mellow side then zipper another when it shows itself, air, rinse and repeat.
Shoulders square, eyes four turns down the hill, hands out front, shins firmly in tongue on boot. Absorb with knees/lower body, keep upper body quiet, pole plants are flicks of the wrist. Turns are on the front side of the mogul while pressing tips down the back side and slip the tails to control speed.

the key to skiing these things is to go to panic then back off

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lvovsky

I’m no expert and only recently learned to enjoy bump even as a jong.

Two drills helped: pivot slips and hokey stops. Go down first bump and make a hokey stop. Pivot slip to/around another bump, go down, hokey stop. Repeat and try to find a rhythm by looking for your next turn. Also, buy red skis.

---

I thrive on the hokey stop.. you do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around. Perfect bump skiing technique! That's what it's all about.

but seriously, the hockey stop using the bump , pole plant, pivot is key and as others have said, slow to start and just focus on a rhythm. rhymes for later.

dammit. evasive_MT beat me to it.