No two mogul runs are exactly alike. A lot of factors play a part—height and width of the moguls, steepness and length of the slope, snow conditions, amount of traffic that's passed through, etc. Here are the main two types:
- NATURAL: An organic mogul field forms after a high volume of skiers and boarders hit a particular stretch of a run. People tend to follow the same "lines" or routes down. As the spray from their turns builds up snow into mounds the narrow "troughs" around the mounds deepen, eventually creating a mini mountain range of moguls.
- ARTIFICIAL: These are typically purpose-built runs with precise specifications for mogul skiing competitions. You're unlikely to encounter these—unless you take a really wrong turn—though the bump run could be left for general use after a competition ends.