Bump Absorption
Bumps will stop launching you and start flowing beneath you — your upper body becomes a camera platform while your legs handle all the chaos.
Actively compressing and extending your legs to absorb each mogul as terrain, not as an obstacle — the foundation of smooth, controlled mogul skiing.
Watch & Learn
Not clicking? Try a different teaching style below:
Key Moments
The mogul pushes your feet up — let them come up by bending the knees rather than resisting
At the top of each bump, actively pull both feet toward your hips — do not wait to be pushed
Between bumps, push your feet down into the trough to maintain snow contact — skis that leave the snow lose control
Hands forward, chest still — let everything below the hips move while everything above stays calm
What It Should Feel Like
- ✓Your legs pistonning constantly — up at the crest, down in the trough, up again
- ✓Hips staying level even as your feet move through a meter of vertical range
- ✓A clicking, metronomic quality once the absorption rhythm locks in
Common Mistakes & Fixes
Rigid legs getting bucked off each crest
Anticipate the bump and start bending before you reach it — active, not reactive
Upper body pitching forward over each crest
Tight core and forward hands — the upper body is a fixed platform, nothing moves above the hips
Skiing too fast before the absorption skill is solid
Go slow enough that you can absorb each bump fully — speed comes after the movement is automatic
Practice Drills
Walk the bumps: side-step up a mogul run and practice the retract-extend motion on each bump from a stationary position — build the movement before adding speed
Single-bump approach: ski straight at one isolated bump, absorb it fully, stop in the trough — master one before linking them
Hands-on-hips run: place both hands on your hips while skiing bumps — if your hands bob up and down, your upper body is not staying calm
Prerequisites
Level Up Next
Your Progression
← Previous
Skidded to Carved Turns
Level 5
Current
Bump Absorption
Level 7
Next Up →
Flat Light Skiing
Level 4