Want to ski the bumps at Vail? Here’s what coaches say about adding moguls to the mix

While just about every skier and snowboarder in Colorado loves the sensation of carving down perfect corduroy or plowing through powder, moguls remain appealing to a rare group of snow sports enthusiasts. Even those who love skiing bumps don’t mince words about their earned appeal.

“Skiing moguls is difficult,” said Ski and Snowboard Club Vail Mogul Development Coach Lara Dowling. “It’s one of the most challenging things you can do in an in-bounds mountain scenario. It’s a great workout. If conditions are good, it can feel fantastic. It’s the challenge that makes it so fun.”

As a testament to the truth of her words, Lara Dowling and her husband, SSCV Mogul Program Director John Dowling, actually make time to ski bumps when they’re not coaching competitive moguls athletes.

“We do ‘Moguls Monday’ with a group of guys and girls,” John said. “We go ski Chair 10 and do lap after lap. Sometimes we knock out 10 runs, then meet for beer and food.”

Go-to mogul runs

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Anyone familiar with Chair 10 — aka Highline Express — on the front side of Vail knows that 10 laps down the seemingly endless, double black-rated Highline trail, is no small feat. Running the length of the chairlift and covered in what can sometimes become car-sized bumps, Highline is also in direct view of those riding the lift.

Thus, venturing down this run means that your mogul skiing prowess — or lack thereof — is on stark display. It also means that Chair 10 — which provides access to the similarly long but often groomed Blue Ox trail as well as the shorter, bumpy, but slightly-less-steep Roger’s Run and Log Chute — is one of the least-crowded areas at the entire resort. Here, you often have the whole run to yourself and never have to stand in a lift line.

“There are certain people who like to go out there and bump it up,” John said. “A lot of our good mogul trails are north-facing and can have some of the best snow on the mountain.”

It’s true. At Vail and Beaver Creek, you don’t have to search far and wide to find mogul runs. However, as is the case at most resorts, the vast majority of skiers and snowboarders typically try harder to avoid mogul runs than seek them out.

For that special group of bump seekers, in addition to Highline, other classic mogul runs on the front side of Vail include Prima, Pronto, Look Ma and Cookshack. Whistle Pig in Mid-Vail has historically also been a less steep, go-to bump run that mogul enthusiasts hope the Vail grooming team will refrain from smoothing this season.

At Beaver Creek, Osprey and Raven Ridge on Grouse Mountain are long runs that typically develop hearty mogul fields. In Rose Bowl, Ripsaw, Web and Spider feature decent-sized natural bumps, as do Loco and S. Star off of Larkspur chairlift. While the unfrequented nature and north-facing aspects of many of these runs mean that the snow is typically soft and inviting, they’re only a real draw for those who revel in moguls … or at least those willing to try them.

Why bump it up?

“If you ski bumps, it makes your skiing better,” John said. “I mean, it’s hard. To ski moguls well, you have to find a certain level of aggression. There’s a lot of response involved. If you’re skiing moguls fast, you’re in the air, then coming back into contact with the snow. You’re using the tip of the ski to soften the touch as you come into the bumps. There’s a lot of command of the ski, from tip to tail. You’re exercising that ability to use the ski through a lot of terrain and to balance. There’s a lot of rhythm, timing and vision involved.”

Those embarking on their first bump foray are probably not skiing fast, or shouldn’t be, until they get more comfortable with the technique. However, the Dowlings are accustomed to a fast approach to the terrain, given that Ski and Snowboard Club Vail has historically produced some of America’s greatest mogul skiers.

Ski and Snowboard Club Vail mogul greats

Ski and Snowboard Club Vail’s A-list of mogul skiers includes Olympic medalist Toby Dawson, who won a bronze medal in the 2006 Torino Olympics. The club has schooled many of America’s current top-tier moguls skiers — Tess Johnson, Elizabeth Lemley, Kai Owens, Olivia Giaccio and Dylan Walczyk, all of whom are podium contenders at the World Cup level. There’s also 13-year-old Vail phenom Ava Keenan, who is the 2023 Freestyle Junior National Champion and aims to become the first Black skier to win an Olympic medal.

“The field of play has changed over the years — jumping is a big part of it — but we still look at the videos of Jeremy Bloom (who Dowling coached during his days in Breckenridge) and Toby Dawson. Their style really stands up today,” John Dowling says, adding that the average mogul newbie need not attempt to model their style or approach after an Olympian.

“The idea of skiing aggressively is different for everybody. A World Cup skier’s version of aggressive is different than anybody else’s,” he said. “For someone wanting to improve their bump skiing, you have to be ready to take it on. You don’t have to ski the run top-to-bottom either. You can make six turns and start again.”

Body positioning for bumps

As with skiing any type of terrain successfully, body position is key. This is best practiced on a gentle slope without bumps.

“We work some specific tips on flat, groomed runs. You need strong fundamentals to even survive a moguls run,” Lara Dowling said, and by “survive,” she of course simply means staying upright. “You can’t ski in the backseat. You have to apply shin pressure to the boots and have your hands in a good, balanced position. You have to get your feet and legs close together and initiate parallel turns comfortably from the tip of your skis.”

As with intermediate skiers on any terrain wanting to advance their technique, the biggest hurdle is to feel comfortable enough pushing their weight into the front of their ski boots and pointing their skis downhill, which is intimidating on steep slopes, especially those covered in bumps.

“Keeping your upper body square to the fall line is so, so important,” Lara said. “If you’re trying to cross the hill on moguls, you’re going to work three times as hard. You have to trust your skis to make a turn pointed downhill. Both kids and adults learning moguls have a tendency to ski with their hands low and behind them. That throws your weight in the wrong place. Hands and upper body position are super, super important.”

Lara advises holding your hands up “like you’re holding a lunch tray.” Along with hands being up in front of you, the eyes should be up, too, scoping out the line ahead.

Eyes on the prize

“Most intermediate adults can’t or don’t want to ski the fall line on a mogul run,” she said. “Headed toward competition, you have to pick that direct line. If you were to pour water down this run, what path would it take? In natural bumps, you have to be more creative, but the idea is to pick a line and stay within that. It’s got that classic zipper look to it. Another big skill for intermediate skiers is to keep your vision up, so you’re looking several moguls down. You’re always looking three, four bumps ahead.”

Another important technique for successfully skiing moguls is to keep a tighter boot stance.

“Keeping a tight foot stance seems unnatural to people. It’s not the way people teach skiing now,” Lara pointed out. “In moguls, it makes things much more efficient.”

From head to toe, there are indeed many specifics to keep in mind for success in the moguls. For those willing to practice, bump enthusiasts emphasize that there is no better way to make yourself a better overall skier.

“Powder is easy. I can ski powder any day. Obviously, groomers are the same. I’m still challenged by moguls. I never go a day on the mountain without skiing a couple mogul runs,” Lara said. “If I didn’t ski bumps, I didn’t really do any skiing.”

A version of this story appears in the winter edition of Vail Valley Magazine, which is currently available at locations throughout the Vail Valley.