How to Adapt to Skiing Moguls

by Robert Stewart

Moguls are one of those challenges in skiing that can strike fear into all but the most expert of skiers. The thing is, moguls can be our friends. Yes really, they can!

If you are comfortable skiing down groomed slopes at varying gradients then you will have the ability to ski a mogul field. I’m not necessarily talking about high speed ‘ripping’ directly down the fall-line or performing aerial manoeuvres like the pros. But it is achievable to ski smoothly and graciously down through a mogul field performing short radius turns like you might on your favourite groomed run.

Skiing is all about adapting to the terrain that we are on at the time. When we drive a car we adapt to the type of road we are using. For example, on a small winding road you would drive more slowly, probably in a lower gear, than on a straight major highway. Many skiers become locked into a certain way of skiing which works fine on certain terrain, usually groomed runs, because that’s what we mostly do. But transfer that technique to other terrain, like moguls or powder, and it might not work as well.

I’m not saying you have to change the way you have learnt to ski, just make some tweaks which help the skis deal with what’s in front of them.

Modern ski technology has enabled skiers to ‘carve’ out smooth turns on groomed runs with relative ease. This is great news because carving out high speed turns can be great fun. But, without going to much into technical detail here, what we are doing in these turns is basically pressurising the inside edge of the turning ski and letting the ski do the work.

I have seen many good skiers head into the moguls and continue to apply the same technique. What tends to happen is that very quickly they gain speed and cannot handle the impact of the moguls. They quickly get thrown backwards even though they understand the principles of flexion and extension crucial to skiing moguls.

For me, the simple solution to skiing moguls at any level is ‘rotation’. This means that we separate the lower part of the body from the upper part. Our legs work independently from out torso. We are steering the skis with our legs and feet. We still use our edges and we still pressure the skis, but in a different cycle.

For example:

Pattern of turning on groomed run > Pressure ski – Edge ski – Skis turns

Pattern of turning on moguls > Turn ski – Pressure ski – Edge ski

One of the best ways to improve our rotational skills is to practice side slipping. It’s not an exiting prospect I know, but a little bit of training here and there will pay off in the long run.

Side slipping involves keeping the skis perpendicular to the slope and sliding down at a controlled speed. It is often something taught to beginners as a safety mechanism to get down steeper slopes. In reality, it is a tricky skill to master but teaches us a lot about edge control and rotation.

The key to this is to pick a fairly steep slope on a groomed run. First, practice your side slip facing one way, then stop and turn around 180 degrees and practice facing in the opposite direction.

Start in a stationary position with the skis at right angles to the slope and about hip width apart. Ensure that your skis are angles so that the inside edge of the lower ski and the uphill edge of the upper ski are holding you in position. Then slowly release both edges simultaneously until the ski flattens against the snow completely and then control your speed by applying more edge as required. More edge means less speed.

The key here, and this is really important, is to make sure you don’t ‘drift’ from the fall-line. In other words you must side slip in a perfectly straight line down the slope. Build up your side slipping practice and then start to change your direction from facing one way to the other as you are moving. This involves releasing the edges and fully rotating the skis 180 degrees underneath your upper body. Again the key here is to keep side slipping in a straight line down the hill, even when changing direction.

Do ten to fifteen minutes of this a day and within a week you will see a big improvement.

Hey, get a bunch of people together and go to a slope with a short tow lift. Take your ski poles and mark out a straight line course down the hill by laying 2 sets of poles about 4 meters apart. Practice your side slipping and stay within the channel of poles. Make the channel narrower as you improve!

What’s this got to do with skiing moguls!! Well, become a master of rotation and all those tips about skiing on top of the bumps and flexing and extending will all become much much easier to perform.

Robert Stewart is an ISIA certified ski instructor who has over 20 years of teaching experience with all levels of skiers. He was formerly a professional freestyle skier and competed in freestyle competitions across the globe. You can find out more about Rob on his own skiing blog at http://blog.themountaindepartment.com.

Skiing the Glades - Trees

So here you are, trying to feel like a young maverick skier going off the trails and into the trees - just hoping that someone passing overhead on the charlift will spot you and give out a loud "WHOOT" of approval and impressiveness (is that a word?).

And then, just before you are about to follow your all too expert friend off the side of a cliff with thick forests of trees that look like they could swallow you whole, you realize, "Wait, how the (insert favorite four-letter word here) am I supposed to do this?"

Fear not. I have your advice right here.

Call ski patrol.

And then before next time, read some of my advice here:

The Glades (The Ones Not in Florida)

The most basic and primary thing you want to do when skiing the trees is simple - look for the empty spaces.

As you have indubitably heard (nice vocabulary, right?) if you have taken a lesson with me is the idea of steering with your eyes. That is, your body will naturally follow and move in the direction you are looking. Have you ever been on the sidewalk, walking along and staring at the beautiful models...uhm...necklaces in the store windows? Next thing you know, you started walking off your line and drifting towards that direction. The same thing occurs in skiing. Whenever you look to the right, your body starts to turn to the right subconciously.

Now let's apply this to skiing in the trees. Let's say you are coming down to a large and intimidating 100 year old tree. You obviously want to ski around the tree - it is rather difficult to ski through it at this point in time - maybe in another 200 years. So, to ski around the tree, we are going to look around the tree. That's right - do not stare directly at it. Remember what we just said. You go where you look. So look for the spaces.

Once you get this idea down, tree skiing becomes almost like mogul skiing. You have to pick your line, look ahead, and plan out your turns.

A few things to look out for on tree skiing:

• Loose brush or inadequate snow cover
- The one thing about tree runs is that snow groomers cannot fit in the runs to groom the slopes. There also is rarely man-made snow here. Therefore, due to relying on natural snow and uncertain conditions, you never really know how deep the glade snow is or what is underneath. Look out for rocks, tree branches, large tree branches, and any exposed ground surface. Your skis are made to go on snow, not dirt.

• Start out on trails with thinner pockets of trees
- When first starting to ski glades, start out on ones that are not as thickly forested or not as extreme terrain. It is better to get comfortable on the easier glades before you move onto the ones with very narrow, untracked, powdery trails with 6 foot (2 meter) jumps. Otherwise, you will hate glade skiing forever.

• Wear a helmet
- Since you never know what you may get into, always wear a helmet. This is pretty self-explanatory, but some people will still resist. If you bite an edge on the groomers, you fall and hit the snow. If you bite an edge in the glades, you fall and hit a tree. Be smart, stay smart, wear a helmet.

• Know where you're going
- A lot of times tree runs will not be marked well on a map, or you may get off track due to the lack of a clear cut trail. Always know where you are going and have a general sense of where you are in relation to the major trails around you on the mountain.

• Use the buddy system
- Always ski with a partner in the glades. Stick together. It is a scary feeling to know that your friend is stuck in the woods and you have no idea where they are. Be smart, don't ski apart.

When you get comfortable, glade skiing can be the most fun type of skiing you will ever do. I did my fair share at Vail and Beaver Creek this past January. They have some awesome, awesome runs that I would recommend if you are seeking out the trees. Now get out there and do it (with my picture as inspiration, of course).

Winter Olympics 2010 - Team USA

As a brief interjection into the magical ski world, let me recommend a site to keep updated on the conquering of the Winter Olympics 2010 by the US Ski Team (I apologize to my French readers. But if it's any consolation, I am rooting for you to come in second place).



http://teamUSAnews.org

There are some great causes that you can support on this site as well. Don't be afraid to give! (On that note, feel free to also give to me. I accept cash, check, and money order. Contact me or leave a comment for where to send it to).

Stay Perpendicular to the Fall Line to Maintain Balance on the Steeps

Have I told you, lately, that I love you...uhh...err...excuse my inner Rod Stewart lyrical self.

What I really meant to say is: Have I told you... why is it harder to ski down steeper slopes, and why our own time-tested movements seem to do even worse on the more challenging terrain we tackle? Yes, that was the question.

Anyways, just as there is a difference in the slope itself, there is a resulting difference in the way we want to ski these slopes to maintain control while we ski, and look good doing it while skiing past the luxury catered ski chalets.

Making sure that your body remains over your base of support (a.k.a. your feet) is essential to maintaining an effective, balanced stance that will allow you to make efficient and controlled movements in your skiing.

I am going to let you in on my little trade secret - the perpendicular skier. Now I don't mean to bash your lack of geometry knowledge (I would much rather brag about mine), but the perpendicular skier is a great way to think of one's body position when skiing.

What is this "perpendicular skier?"

Basically, what you want to do is try and keep your torso perpendicular to the slope. (For those of you still struggling with the geometry concept, perpendicular means at 90 degree angles to one another).

And why do I bring up geometry at a time like this when we were trying to learn how to ski the steeps? Let me explain.

Whenever you start down the double black diamond cliff, your body position changes relative to the pitch of the slope. If you maintain the same body position on this pitch as the position you skied down the bunny slope, I can say with a percentage of accuracy that is higher than the 99.9% of germs that antibacterial hand sanitizer, that you will fall straight back on your behind. Let's look at the following figure for an example:

In this image (praise my revolutionary artistic abilities later), I took the skier in the first image and pasted his exact body and skis to the steeper slope in the second image. The key here lies in the angles between the skier's body (represented by the purple line) and the pitch of the slope (represented by the blue line).

You can see that as the pitch of the slope increases, the angle that the black arrow points to decreases markedly. You should also take note of the fact that the angle is now less than 90 degrees, meaning that the skier is now leaning backwards relative to the slope. Three guesses what happens next to this poor little skier man...

Therefore, the lesson here is, as you attack the steeps, make sure you lean more forward to maintain a perpendicular or slightly forward of perpendicular body position (See July 2009 article: "A Balance Tip That Is Slightly More Than 'Lean Forward'"). This gives you more balance and therefore control when skiing these steeps.

Now go out there and shred up those steeps, and a shout out to those of you on the US east coast - Washington D.C. received more than a foot and a half of snow last week I hear. I wonder which reader received the most...let us know via the comments. And for those metric-system-lovers out there, that is about 46 cm.

Skiing the Bumps - PSIA Video

I found an awesome video about skiing bumps and moguls that is done by Dave Lundberg of the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) Alpine Team. Dave is one of best alpine skiers in the world and skis with incredible style and grace (reminds me of myself). He is also an expert at describing and teaching skiing. He talks about some great tips, and the video provides great material for all you visual learners out there. Just follow the following link...

http://www.rsn.com/files/rsn-podcast/111509_RSN_PSIA__SM.mp4

Also, make sure to look at my own written post on skiing the bumps ("Skiing Those Things Called Moguls," 6 April 2009.)

It's already November. Think snow!

How to Win a Season in the Canadian Rockies and Become a Ski Instructor

I was asked to post this opportunity contest on the blog. I almost hesitated because I was going to enter hundred times myself, and figured the more people that read this, the less chance I have to win. But in the end, I folded to the pressures of authorship and sharing the mountain with others. Sometimes I kick myself in the gluteus maximus for being such a nice guy. But then again, that would impede my balance movements while skiing...

NONSTOP Ski & Snowboard is offering one lucky person the chance to win a place on its 11-week instructor training course in Fernie, including return flights with Air Canada, worth over £7,500 ($11,000 USD).

NONSTOP’s 11-week course is ideal for a career break, Gap Year or fast-track into the instructor industry.

Win this prize and you’ll be learning from some of Canada’s most respected instructors. During the course you can achieve internationally recognised level one and two Canadian ski or snowboard instructor qualifications that allow you to work as an instructor worldwide.

You’ll be staying in the NONSTOP Lodge, in downtown Fernie, which has fantastic facilities including ensuite twin bedrooms, swimming pool, hot tub, movie room and ski/board tuning room. And there’s also a bar and restaurant where you’ll enjoy healthy, hearty meals.

The prize includes practically all you need to spend a season in the Canadian mountains – flights with Air Canada, a season lift pass, weekly professional instruction, half-board accommodation, plus numerous extra activities like cat-skiing, snowmobiling, weekend trips to other resorts and an avalanche and first aid course. Full details available at www.nonstopski.com/win-a-season-in-canada.

NONSTTOP Ski & Snowboard have teamed up with metrosnow.co.uk to offer this amazing prize. To enter visit www.metrosnow.co.uk/competitions until April 6, 2010.

Stopping Power and Technique in Skiing

I received a question/comment (awesome in itself) from someone "over the water" (also awesome in itself) about stopping on the "How to Feel Less Fatigued When Skiing" post:

Very interesting, Skiblog. Let me pose a question from over the water. I am an ice skater who discovered skiing. In skating being able to stop is a high priority and learnt early in lessons. In skiing it seems to be well down the list, and some books seem to say that at certain speeds, there is no way of braking safely. Any thoughts, please. David

To Stop, or not to Stop...

Let me start off by saying, I can stop in mid-air...well, maybe not mid-air, but you get the idea.

This is actually a very good question, and a tough one at that. There is some debate among professionals about the appropriate teaching methodology when it comes to stopping (the reasons I will explain below), but ultimately there is a need for some practicality above all else.

Among beginner skiers, one of the main goals of the American Teaching System (which I believe very strongly in) is to develop new skiers directly into the most fluid, dynamic skiers possible from the start. In the past, ski schools have taught beginner students some skills that actually interfere with more advanced techniques further down the yellow brick road, specifically, the "wedge stop" or "pizza."

The wedge stop is a double sided axe. On one hand, it is needed to allow new skiers to stop themselves, which in itself I think is an obvious necessity. If you need further clarification, see the NY Times article about the skier who was unable to stop.

However, this wedge becomes a very comfortable safety valve for a frightened and inexperienced skier...too much so if not controlled, thus leading to what is infamously known as the "power wedge," a full-out wedge with skis spread twice as wide as the shoulder-width standard. This is a comfortable and safe-feeling position. However, it is very detrimental to the ski skill progression. Skiers often get too comfortable. Sooner or later, they find it very hard to break this large power wedge position, which makes it almost impossible to continue on to parallel skiing.

Therefore, many instructors will teach beginner lessons without any wedge, but instead teach a direct turn stop, that is, turning into the hill to stop. This would be similar to a ice-skate or "hockey" stop. However, it is also harder to stop in this way.

One could say, then, that it makes most practical sense to teach a wedge for convenience, but strongly enforce that no power wedge forms.

"...at certain speeds, there is no way of braking safely..."

Some will argue this is true. I (and others) will tell you that a fairly skilled skier with good balance can do so. I am sure there is an analagous dilemma in skating.

To conclude - yes, you can stop safely. And yes, stopping is important and is taught, but it must be taught judiciously. We want to teach our students in ways that will not only allow them to get up the slope and coast down the green lollipops, but also provide a foundation upon which they can easily improve to attack the blacks.