Your On-Snow Mogul Skiing Lesson Plan
Here’s your on-snow lesson plan explaining what you will learn and what you can expect during your BUMPS FOR BOOMERS clinic or private lesson.
Stage 1: Review & Refine Essential Skiing Skills
It is difficult to ski moguls unless you have good ski technique so we will start by spending time on groomed runs to review and practice essential skills required to “graduate” into the bumps. We will cover:
Clarity About Ski Technique:
If you have taken ski lessons at various times over the last 15 years you may have received different and sometimes conflicting messages regarding proper ski technique. This is because both ski technique and ski equipment have dramatically changed over this time period. We will sort this out and clarify for you what movement patterns are appropriate for today’s equipment, and why.
Stance And Balance:
We show you how to create a centered stance, fine-tune fore/aft balance and develop a patient turn so you can stay balanced while in motion (extremely important in the bumps). If you have a tendency to ski “in the back seat” we will quickly correct that problem.
Turn Mechanics:
We explain and practice the exact sequence of events necessary to ski a perfect turn.
Speed Control:
We explain how to control speed using two different, but complementary, techniques — using the shape of the turn … and using a soft edge.
Integrating These Concepts:
We put all the pieces together and develop a strong sense of confidence from the integration of new movement patterns. At the end of Stage 1, your form, confidence and speed control on groomed runs will have dramatically improved.
Stage 2: Learn Mogul Skiing Techniques On Groomed Runs
Carving has become the holy grail of skiing – the mantra of the ski industry and what every skier seems to want to do well. However, carving is a racing technique designed to increase speed but speed is something that recreational skiers are not looking for when skiing bumps.
The secret to skiing moguls is to develop the skills of a soft edge, that is, to do the opposite of carving.
The Precision Drift:
We introduce a concept called a “precision drift”, a technique that offers amazing speed control on all terrain, but most importantly in moguls and powder. We develop the skills of a “precision drift” by first practicing the concept of drifting in a straight line straight down the fall line on groomed terrain. Then we increase drift precision by initiating turns and drifting to a dead stop at an exact location where we have placed a ski pole in the snow.
Virtual Bumps:
We then practice skiing “virtual bumps” on easy groomed runs as a precursor to actually skiing a mogul run. In that way we gain experience with critical movement patterns before we move into three-dimensional terrain. It means there is less new stuff to think about when you begin to navigate through real bumps.
Stage 3: Apply The Skiing Techniques In Moguls & Powder
With our newly developed understanding of proper skiing technique, our more centered stance, our confidence from the feeling of improved balance and greater control, and practice with newly learned mogul techniques on groomed runs, we will now start to use the mogul skiing skills we practiced on groomed runs and actually start skiing entry level bumps.
Skiing Slow, Safe And Controlled:
Our primary objective will be to practice skiing the moguls in slow motion, under full control, making turns on one mogul at a time … stopping on the top of each successive mogul. You will learn to view moguls as “friendly” steps down the hill and understand how to use them to control your decent. With the added benefit of short skis, you will be able to “turn on a dime”, control your speed, stay balanced and make patient turns. As a result, your confidence will grow, you will develop muscle memory for the correct movement patterns and you will have fun!
Understanding Mogul Tactics:
We will also cover important tactics used to enhance mogul skiing. These include: where to plant your pole, where to turn on each mogul, and different optional routes (slow versus fast) to take through the moguls.
Integrating These Concepts:
As you become ever more confident in the bumps, we will start to link successive turns together into a slow, smooth, flowing run through the moguls. You will be amazed at the control you have developed. As you continue to gain confidence, you can increase your speed, knowing that you now have the skills to slow down again at any time.
Please refer to our FAQ for logistical details about our clinics.
Learn more about our on-snow Mogul Ski Lesson programs in Aspen.