Mike
2008-08-13, 17:43
I am no snowboarder but I can imagine tackling a mogul field on a snowboard is no easy task.
One of the advices I found is:
Don't try and ride over them and don't try and ride in between them, ride the faces of the moguls. If you ride the face then it actually helps you turn and stops you building up speed and bouncing over every mogul.
Riding moguls down the fall line is one of the most difficult things you can do on a snowboard. You need to be able to turn your board under your body very rapidly. Using the down unweighting technique where you just use your legs to rebound into turns and keep your upper body relatively still compared to normal technique, you only get this with practice and it kills your legs!
Another advice is:
You cannot ride a mogul field using the same techniques you would on a groomer. So forget about carved turns, and say hello to a combination of slid turns, and jump turns, depending on your board or energy levels.
Regardless of technique, the last thing you want in a nasty mogul field is speed, because you cannot easily scrub it off once you have gained it. Any attempt at slowing down is likely to send you skyward when you get it all wrong. So to prevent build up of speed, you need to put in tighter turns, and traverse across the face of the piste dropping height gradually as you go, before putting in another tight turn. While you are traversing, use ze knees so your head (Where possible, and assuming the moguls aren't taller than you are...) stays at a consistent level, and you use you legs and knees like suspension to soak up the different in height as you hit the crests and dips of the moguls. You may be able to pick a diagnoal line across the piste that custs through all the bumps without dropping you too mcuh height, and picking you up all that unwanted speed.
Now, as for those turns... If your board is nice and soft, you can get away with just sliding the back end around really fast without bothering to get a real edge in the surface. A proper beginners skiddy turn! This is easy, as you can pivot more easily on the top of a mogul, because not all the board will be in contact with the snow. This has the added benefit of pushing a whole load of snow off the top of the mogul, and into one of the dips, thus helping to improve the condition of the slope and even it all out for fellow boarders.
Here are some tips I found on the net:
Step 1 -Choose a gentle slope with small moguls for your first few mogul runs.
Step 2 - Enter the moguls by traversing the slope at a mild angle.
Step 3 - Keep your back hand forward. This keeps your stance forward and aggressive.
Step 4 - Allow your legs to suck up as you go up over the mogul and extend as you drop down the back. Imagine your head staying level as your legs act as shock absorbers.
Step 5 - Stop at the top of a mogul and take a moment to notice how your nose and tail hang over on each end, unweighted and begging for a turn.
Step 6 - Turn down the mogul and carve into your next turn through the trough.
Step 7 - Continue using your legs as shock absorbers, but now concentrate on negotiating a path through the moguls with your turns.
Step 8 - Keep your gaze ahead of you to plan your next turn early. As you get better at moguls, start planning three or four turns ahead.
One of the advices I found is:
Don't try and ride over them and don't try and ride in between them, ride the faces of the moguls. If you ride the face then it actually helps you turn and stops you building up speed and bouncing over every mogul.
Riding moguls down the fall line is one of the most difficult things you can do on a snowboard. You need to be able to turn your board under your body very rapidly. Using the down unweighting technique where you just use your legs to rebound into turns and keep your upper body relatively still compared to normal technique, you only get this with practice and it kills your legs!
Another advice is:
You cannot ride a mogul field using the same techniques you would on a groomer. So forget about carved turns, and say hello to a combination of slid turns, and jump turns, depending on your board or energy levels.
Regardless of technique, the last thing you want in a nasty mogul field is speed, because you cannot easily scrub it off once you have gained it. Any attempt at slowing down is likely to send you skyward when you get it all wrong. So to prevent build up of speed, you need to put in tighter turns, and traverse across the face of the piste dropping height gradually as you go, before putting in another tight turn. While you are traversing, use ze knees so your head (Where possible, and assuming the moguls aren't taller than you are...) stays at a consistent level, and you use you legs and knees like suspension to soak up the different in height as you hit the crests and dips of the moguls. You may be able to pick a diagnoal line across the piste that custs through all the bumps without dropping you too mcuh height, and picking you up all that unwanted speed.
Now, as for those turns... If your board is nice and soft, you can get away with just sliding the back end around really fast without bothering to get a real edge in the surface. A proper beginners skiddy turn! This is easy, as you can pivot more easily on the top of a mogul, because not all the board will be in contact with the snow. This has the added benefit of pushing a whole load of snow off the top of the mogul, and into one of the dips, thus helping to improve the condition of the slope and even it all out for fellow boarders.
Here are some tips I found on the net:
Step 1 -Choose a gentle slope with small moguls for your first few mogul runs.
Step 2 - Enter the moguls by traversing the slope at a mild angle.
Step 3 - Keep your back hand forward. This keeps your stance forward and aggressive.
Step 4 - Allow your legs to suck up as you go up over the mogul and extend as you drop down the back. Imagine your head staying level as your legs act as shock absorbers.
Step 5 - Stop at the top of a mogul and take a moment to notice how your nose and tail hang over on each end, unweighted and begging for a turn.
Step 6 - Turn down the mogul and carve into your next turn through the trough.
Step 7 - Continue using your legs as shock absorbers, but now concentrate on negotiating a path through the moguls with your turns.
Step 8 - Keep your gaze ahead of you to plan your next turn early. As you get better at moguls, start planning three or four turns ahead.