Ski Techniques and Tips for Moguls - 4 Compression Turns

Of the skiers on an average mogul field, perhaps only 20% will really look like they have it all under control. The skiers who stand out from the rest do so because they actually absorb the moguls.

Basically when you absorb the bump your upper body remains upright, in balance, and your legs flex up usually to the height of the bump. Then as you are going down the backside of the bump you uncoil and push out your legs, creating a friction that controls your speed.

Absorbing the bump is a pretty difficult thing to do. There is much to think about in moguls and trying to make new technical manoeuvres as well as all the rest is hard. What you need to do is break down the turns a bit.

Find a comfortable piste and practice making a single compression turn. Its almost opposite to the type of turn you normally make on piste. On piste there is usually an extension of the legs to initiate. Here you actually flex and pull your feet up underneath you as you start the turn. Progressively pulling them up until the halfway point of the turn when you start to extend them back out again.

You can use some of the mountains natural terrain to practice. Simply ski towards a hump or hip on the slope and go through the same process. As with the moguls try to keep your upper body travelling on the same level and let your legs flex up to absorb. Eventually with practice on these little humps you should be able to have a good enough range of movement to keep the upper body at the same level and soak up the whole height of the hump.

Move on to linking your compression turns together on piste. Make sure that the absorbing movement you are making is that of the heel of the feet tucking up behind you and not your backside just sitting back. It is essential you get this right at this stage - when you take it into a mogul field you’ll need to be in centre balance and ready for the next 30 turns, not just getting pushed back and accelerating out after one. Once you can feel it right and feel you are maintaining balance with the hips over the balls of the feet, progressively increase the range of your absorbing movement.

Compression turns are a great practice and skill development exercise to give you a better understanding of how to absorb the bumps.