When my friend Alyxis suggested we take a girls' day trip to ski I said SIGN. ME. UP.
무주덕유산 Muju Deogyusan Ski Resort, located in the 구천동 Gucheon-dong Valley at the base of Deogyusan Mountain, is about 1.5 hours away. Close enough that we could drive up after the husbands left for work, the kids were sent off to school, the rentals and lift tickets were purchased, and we were ready to hit the afternoon lifts.
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| Trish, Alyxis and Linda (who came along for the ladies luncheon--haha) |
Here are Alyxis and I on our very first run.
The highest lifted point on Muju is 1,510m (almost 5,000 feet). Much lower than Colorado. As a comparison, the runs are obviously not as long nor as advanced as Colorado. However, it is still snow skiing and it is still a whole lotta fun.
Some creative person made Olaf at the top of the lift.
The longest run, Silk Road, is 6.1km, which is a bit shy of 4 miles. It is actually the longest run in Korea. It takes me back to skiing with the fam in Breckinridge when we would do 4 o'clock run at the end of the day. As I was ending my day at the bottom of this busy green run, I thought I would show off for the beginners and swish by with my skis really close together. I got a little too cocky, got my skis crossed and bit it. At least I was able to laugh at myself. (This video is from earlier in the day and does not capture my graceful crash.)
Check out the dense fog. It was crazy! We could hardly see anything that was more than a few feet in front of us.
A couple of the lifts offered free rain jackets. We opted out; it wasn't even raining. After skiing through the thick clouds, we discovered why they offered the jackets. We were totally wet. It wasn't from melted snow, but from the moisture in the air. As the afternoon progressed and the temps slowly began to fall, the wetness on our clothes began to turn to ice. Check out my hair.
The cold and the fog created some stunning scenery.
Because we are in Korea, there is a temple shop at the top of the gondola. Deogyusan Mountain is a national park, so many people will ride the gondola up and take a little hiking path to view the sights. I was much happier viewing them from the lifts and then racing down the mountain on my skis.
Alyxis and I barreled down the mountain, jumped on the lift, and repeated all afternoon long. I think we hit every run that was open. It was a great day.
[January 25]
