Customer Reviews

Everything the Instructors Never Told You About Mogul Skiing

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I've taken many bump lessons, and have attended weekend mogul camps, and they have ranged from being taught 'mogul survival', which is not what I need, to spending a weekend with great mogul skiers, who point out a mistake or two that your making, and usually teach with the 'watch me' approach.

Dan's book breaks down bump skiing in clear consice terms. He breaks the bumps down to several basic skills, and provides drills, to help them sink in. After my first read, I concentrated on the 'Home posture' and 'rotary turn' drills, and found that I was going into the mogul field in a crouched stance and would end up launching off of the 4th or 5th bump. The rotary drills got my lower body moving more seperate from the upper. After weekend one, I was putting together runs of 10 bumps before being spit out.

Reread for Weekend two and focused working on 'Absorption and Extention'; my biggest problem. Started with the drills, which were tricky at first, since your concentrating so hard, but I started getting a better feel after the first day. Second day, they opened WildFire (killington) which had snow blown all night and was moguls top to bottom. Continued working on pulling the first three skills together, and added some better line choices. (No hops yet;) My last two runs were top to bottom with only a single stop to let my heart rate drop below 170. These were my first full bump runs, where I was the guy blowing by the people struggling on the hill, rather than being one of them.

To benefit from the book, you need to be a solid intermediate skier who skis single black diamonds; can hold a parallel with their boots together on a groomed slope; and can make it through a mogul field. (with some trepidation and fear, but still make it.) You can benefit greatly from the book. If your an advanced skier (The term 'expert' I reserve for folks who can ski bumps, ice, steeps, crud, and powder) and like me can handle most anything except the bumps, this is perfect for you.

My skiing buddy (my wife), is blown away at the transformation, and skies ahead so she can watch my runs. So, Yes this book can make you more attractive to members of the opposite sex. ;) Thanks Dan!

First, I am 63 and have been skiing for 40+ years. I now live in Southern California but generally ski at either Mammoth or Snowbird. I can turn my skis right and left and can usually get down most of the in-bounds trails at most resorts including the mogul runs. I like it all, but I really like bump skiing.

To that end, I want to give Dan DiPiro a big THANK YOU for writing Everything... . Frankly, my experience suggests he's absolutely right when he says that most ski instructors do not know how to ski bumps and try to teach people to ski bumps using racing technique. So while I do OK in the bumps, I have never quite mastered skiing the zipper line the bump skiers use.

Of course, it never dawned on my until read Dan's book, that the problem was not me, but my not knowing the techniques that the pro bump skiers used. I found the way in which he broke down the differences between trail and mogul skiing to make a lot of sense and I am looking forward to using the exercises he includes in his book to develop an alternate skill set that I can use to improve my bump skiing. So here's to Dan - for making a major contribution to skiing in general and my bump skiing in particular.

The audience DiPiro is writing for in this book is the skier who wants to ski moguls fast, following the fall line, feet and knees locked together, knees pumping, feet twisting below a steady upper body, finishing with an aerial stunt, just like the mogul skiers in competitions on t.v.

As a long-time skier in my 70's, I aspire to ski moguls slowly and gracefully, as I have seen hundreds of good recreational skiers do. I have no desire to ski with white patches on the knees of my ski pants so the people on the chairlift can admire how fast I pump and keep my knees together.

Some of DiPiro's advice may be helpful to such a skier as I--stand tall, compress and extend, don't carve. But much of it fails to address my goals. For example, he says to use compression and extension to control speed, but doesn't explain how to transfer these actions to speed control. In fact, he relates these movements to speed, rather than control. While he pairs compression with extension, his diagrams for skiing the line show skiing in the trough around moguls, not over them, where one would compress. Quickly turning the feet can most easily be done on the top of a mogul; he doesn't mention this.

Having read the rave reviews for this book, I was disappointed to find it doesn't give the instruction I was looking for.

I really enjoyed reading Dan's book. It's a quick read (only ~90 pages) and is full of great tips and drills to help you improve in the bumps. It seems a bit geared more towards the already advanced groomed trail skier looking to bash the zipperline, but everyone can use this book to improve their moguling technique in whatever style they choose. For less than 14 bucks, this one is a no brainer...

Greg B
AlpineZone.com

At last, there is a book that de-mystifies mogul skiing. Dan Diprio's book simplifies a rather complex form of skiing that plagued me for years. I must have taken 3 lessons on mogul skiing, and they were all a waste given that all 3 emphasized short radius turns (i.e., slalom carving) over and thru the bumps. What a waste of money and energy !!

Dan has it right. DO NOT listen to those carving experts who wrongly think that carving skills on the groomed and hard pack apply on the bumps. Bumps require a far different skill most expert carvers lack or don't appreciate (e.g., less round turns and edging, steering the skis, reduced hip angulation, weighting both skiis equally, etc).

Just returned from a Winter Park Colorado trip, and can now do moderate sized bumps on intermediate trails thanks to Dan's book.

Thanks Dan for a well written book that is easy to understand and will allow skiiers to venture beyond the groomed !!

I want to change the title to "Everything your husband never told you about mogul skiing".My husband and I ski groomed trails together with about the same proficiency. I have tried for years to follow my husband down mogul runs,with very little success.He skis fast through the bumps and I am left behind to "survive" the bumps. Last season I took a ladies clinic and granted little time was spent on moguls, but what they did teach was all about where to turn on the mogul and somrthing about going in a door and out a door!Just like with my husband it was lots of talk about "choosing my line" meanwhile no one ever says it is a totally different way to ski from CARVING the groomed slopes. Now in defense of my spouse he learned to ski as a kid and has a very Austrian (pre-shaped ski) legs close together steering (not carving)style of skiing so maybe it never occured to him to tell me that I needed to change my stance and the way I ski to do the moguls. I read the book on the way up to Vermont and tried to practice the drills as much as I could on the groomed stuff and felt great. It was a crowded weekend and I was with my 4 kids and so I didn't get as much time to traverse the moguls and practice some of the skills, but I can already say that my mind-set is totally different and I am confident that I can ski the moguls because now I "get it!" I just wish I had a few hours to myself and a soft mogul run to go at it!

I read some other books about moguls and then I figured I'd give this one a try as well. It turned out this one was superior, by far. The author not only competed in moguls (was once ranked 21st in country), but is able to share and explain the necessary techniques needed for effective mogul skiing. This is a must for an aspiring mogul skiier.

If you are a good-to-expert groomed-trail skier who has been frustrated when trying to use those skills in the bumps, there's a reason. Contrary to what so many of us believe, mogul skiing isn't just a harder version of carving turns down groomers. It's a totally different animal, and once Dan DiPiro explains it in his outstanding new book, you'll understand why all that effort in the bumps has so far not produced any results.

The title is apt. Ski instructors at most resorts, unless you are lucky enough to find a true moguls expert, tend to believe that the basic skills they teach to all skiers are equally applicable in the bumps. But they're not. As DiPiro explains, basic techniques like carving and hip angulation will actually prevent you from skiing the bumps efficiently, while other techniques -- such as keeping your skis close together and maintaining a more erect "home posture" -- will suddenly make you feel at home in the bumps as never before.

In a series of logically organized chapters, each with photos, easy-to-follow tips and practice drills, DiPiro -- who is an accomplished moguls competitor and now teaches skiing in New Hampshire -- explains the specialized techniques that help demystify the bumps. While DiPiro is a moguls competitor, the book is written to benefit any good skier who wants to ski the moguls better, more efficiently and, since so many mogul runs are directly under the lifts, more stylishly. If there's any shortcoming, it's in the section on line choice. Most of us could use more help in figuring the best way through the irregular mogul fields that dominate eastern skiing, but it may be that a video, rather than a book, is the best way to illustrate those choices.

Even if you never venture into a "pure" mogul run, DiPiro's techniques will help you ski through any run that's been chewed up by being over-skied, or hasn't been groomed in a while, or has gotten bumpy and irregular from a day's heavy snow. If you're a good skier who wants to "ski the whole mountain" but needs the techniques to do it, this is the book for you.

Now, if only he would make a downloadable video to bring onto the slopes in your digital camera or camera phone!

I have been taught and have taught every thing in this book, but NOT AS WELL

DiPiro's breakdown of mogul technique in "Everything the Instructors Never Told You about Mogul Skiing" is a great resource for mogul skiers, beginner to expert. His writing style is easy to read and easy to visualize. The images accompanying the text are also infinitely helpful.

DiPiro's message is solid. Following the drills and tips he provides, you are sure to advance you mogul skiing abilities in leaps and bounds. His approach to mogul technique intentionally avoids discussion of "carving," in the conventional alpine sense. Be sure to remember as you read, that this doesn't mean your skis should be flat and skidding! DiPiro simply emphasizes that the technique used in moguls ought not be derived solely from alpine carving, but should rather be an exploration into an entirely different realm of skiing.

I read this book just as I was getting into skiing bumps. It truly opened my eyes to "real" mogul skiing. I was able to develop and hone my skills much more effectively with the knowledge learned from reading DiPiros book not once, but three times! The concepts truly came to life after I received coaching at a Mogul Logic camp. At this juncture, I must also note that, as effective as a book on technique may be, it can never totally replace the value of live instruction/coaching. This book would be a great companion to taking a mogul camp (Mogul Logic, Momentum, etc.), or a live mogul lesson with DiPiro or another mogul pro.

I would also personally advise following up your reading of this book by watching Chuck Martin's mogul skiing lessons on YouTube (search "mogul logic chuck") . Those, along with this book, will help you take your skiing to another level.

What it comes down to is this: each skier must synthesize and formulate his own style, by learning as much as he can from multiple schools of thought. He must take from these, and develop his own style which is comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, and most fun! "Everything the Instructors Never Told You about Mogul Skiing" should reside on the nightstand of any skier interested in moguls.

As a sidenote, this book was a big catalyst in my decision to develop mogulskiing (dot) net. Thanks for your hard work, Dan!

Keep on bumpin.