Moguls are not a subject that Snowboarders tend to get excited about and very rarely will a rider jump with joy at the mention of moguls. But, that being the case, they sometimes have to be done.
So whether it be to get to the park, or the lead up to your favourite powder stash, here are some tips that should help you get down those bumps that skiers love the most.
Confidence is key, Pick your line and go for it!
First things first, pick the line you want to take to get through the bumps. You need to fully commit to it once you have. Moguls are unforgiving beasts, 110% commitment is needed when hitting them, otherwise you’re going to get thrown around.
When you first start riding bumps you’ll want to go for a wider line, this will give you a lot more time to control your speed before performing your next turn. Once you get more confident using a wider line, you can get your line narrower and quicker.
Keep in mind that the lines you pick will be different to the lines that skiers go down. As a snowboarder you will be riding over the top of each mogul and turning down the face of it. This gives you a lot more time and space to perform your turns.
Stay relaxed. Use those knees!
When riding moguls, flexibility in your knees is the key. Keep your knees bent and stay relaxed - much like you should be doing while snowboarding anyway.
When riding moguls your knees should work independently of each other.
A good analogy for how your legs and knees should work is when a bike goes over a bump: the front wheel will absorb the impact first, followed by the rear wheel. This is what your legs should be doing in moguls. This can be easily practiced by simply riding straight across bumpy terrain, get your knees used to it and moguls will become ten times easier.
Vary your turns
Mogul fields aren’t usually consistent all the way through. For this reason, you’ll probably have to mix it up with your turns.
When riding in tighter packed mogul fields, you won’t usually have the time to perform your normal sweeping turn. This is where you’ll have to start using the pivot turn.
This type of turn is where you force your board around by spinning your front leg and pushing the board round with your back foot - rather than waiting for it to come around.
Practice these on groomers first. Once they’re mastered it’ll be another tool in your growing arsenal to tackle the bumps! Successfully completing a mogul field will also make you look like a pro snowboarding instructor, and who doesn’t?! If you want, you can do more than just look like an instructor; you can do a snowboard instructor course with us, SnowSkool - just saying!
Practice practice practice
Moguls are a bit like a guitar solo: they can be fast, hard and technical but once you get into the rhythm, it’ll feel awesome!
But you'll need to practice to get there. So once you’ve got the techniques mentioned above down the only way you’re going to perfect your technique is practice.
They might not be your favourite thing to ride on but get out on those bumps now and again. There aren’t many things that will work your legs like a mogul field, if you find yourself on moguls more and more often you might even start to notice a sizeable difference in the strength in your legs!
Try a Snowboard Instructor Course
Another option to really push your ability to the next level, is through completing a snowboarding instructor’s course. If snowboarding is a love of yours why not learn to instruct and spend 11 weeks out in the mountains on what is effectively a fully catered snowboarding holiday! Completing a ski instructor course or snowboard instructor course can be one of the best ways to improve your technique and confidence when skiing or boarding, plus it’s an amazing experience to meet like-minded people who’ll become friends for life!
Related Content
For more ways on how to develop your snowboarding, have a look at this article all about snowboarding off-piste.
Skier? Check out our guide on how to ski moguls and our ski instructor courses!