5 tips to help you navigate bumpy slopes

(Intermediate to Advanced)

Bumps, moguls, piles of slush or chopped up snow all add to the challenge of descending even a blue run. If you have the skill to make short parallel turns, you have the potential ability to take on the bumps. These 5 tips could help you gain confidence and possibly even enjoy navigating your way through the peaks and troughs of a mogul field.

1. Body down the hill.

This is essential for balance. Facing the enemy will enable you to maintain control as the bump pushes against you. A good instructor will often teach you how to do a ‘hockey stop’ and ‘brakeage’ both ways of getting you to turn your legs independently of your body. This rotational separation will also help with point 2. 

2. Feet closer together.

You want to keep your weight more equally on both skis than when carving your way down the piste. Having your feet closer together will keep you standing on more even ground rather than one ski halfway up a bump while the other ski is in the trough. A closer stance will also help achieve point 3.

3. Flat skis.

Keeping your skis flat will enable your legs to work like shock absorbers. A ski on its edge needs constant resistance from your leg, making it ridged and changes in the terrain like bumps, will throw you around. Flat skis help you be lighter on your feet and give your legs the movement needed. This will also make point 4 easier.

4. Twist your heels into the back of the bump.

Steering your skis to end the turn as you reach the next bump will keep you following a line through the bumps rather than over or across them. Depending on the distance between each bump you may have to turn your feet quicker or slower. This will also help control your speed and make point 5 possible.

5. Plant your pole on top of the bump.

Planting your pole as soon as one turn ends will help you transition into the next turn immediately. The last thing you want to be doing is travelling across the moguls rather than around them. A strong pole plant out in front of you at the panicle of a bump will stabilise your body and act as a pivot point to turn around. This will also help point 1.

It’s easy to see how all these skills link together and improving any one of these will help you navigate bumpy slopes with less difficulty and more confidence. Improving all 5 points will create a good platform to becoming a proficient mogul skier. Then, as with any high-level skiing it becomes a game of small margins, making other adjustments like dipping the toes over the bumps or taking higher or lower lines to achieve different outcomes.

A BASS instructor can guide you through the whole process or shape your performance by focusing on any small changes needed to each of the points above to create a truly bespoke coaching session. My final tip is to practice rhythmical short turns in a narrow corridor to put all these skills together while skiing.

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