Dates Skied: June 6
Resort or Ski Area: Woongjin Snowdoci, Bucheon South Korea
Conditions: Man-made
Trip Report: I spent two weeks in Seoul and decided to check out the indoor skiing scene in neighboring Bucheon, which was about an hour away by subway from where I was staying. The ski area is in a mall that also houses a waterpark, golf range, spa and children's play zone, as well as shopping and restaurants. Ski tickets are available for 3.5 hour sessions beginning at 9:00am, 2:00pm and 6:00pm. For an additional $7 or so you can combine two sessions, which is what I did. The total for 7 hours of skiing plus equipment rentals was about $40. You can also rent jackets, pants and gloves for an additional fee. Helmets, which are required on the upper slope and in the terrain park, are free of charge. I packed my own helmet, ski pants and a very light rain jacket, which I found to provide more than sufficient warmth. The rental skis were Nordica Olympia Mints and the boots were some rear-entry model I've since forgotten.
The slopes are accessed via a magic carpet / supermarket shopping cart conveyer belt. This was fine on the lower slope, but posed problems on the upper slope, where, due to the increased pitch, I had to keep hold on the handrail or risk sliding down into the skier behind me. Eventually I began taking my skis off on the ride up.
The main slope was largely skied off from the first run. They have a groomer (see below), but apparently did not use it prior to my first session. I stuck to the edges where some small moguls were beginning to form. About half an hour into the session, they dropped the ropes on their dedicted mogul run and I spent the next two hours lapping it with about 15 other skiers, half of who were very good and at least two of whom who were competition level. I was not able to communicate much with them, but there appears to be a thriving mogul scene in Korea. I saw a lot of dedicated moguls skis: Hart F-17s, Twisters, ID-Ones. There were even a few snowboarders who were able to ride the moguls pretty well.
The mogul run had two seeded lines about 100m in length. According to the website, the slope is 15 degrees. The moguls were firm but edgeable and had fairly deep troughs. There were no kickers, but they have an airbag, which was not set up while I was there. The moguls were perfect for working on technique and improving speed and confidence. I was glad I spent the extra money for the two-session ticket, as they rope off the mogul run about half an hour before the session ends and I was not finished yet.
I was pleasantly surprised that to find that indoor skiing could actually be enjoyable for more than than the novelty factor. I doubt that Xanadu (if it ever opens) would ever consider devoting any of its terrain to mogul skiers, but I think it might be a good idea. Advanced and expert skiers who prefer steeps and trees and powder are unlikely to be attracted to indoor skiing, but based on what I saw in Bucheon, decent mogul skiers would be quite content to lap a short intermediate level mogul run year round.
Below are some grainy photos taken by blackberry.
Looking down the right line:
Looking up the magic carpet
Groomer:
Making snow:
More moguls:
Resort or Ski Area: Woongjin Snowdoci, Bucheon South Korea
Conditions: Man-made
Trip Report: I spent two weeks in Seoul and decided to check out the indoor skiing scene in neighboring Bucheon, which was about an hour away by subway from where I was staying. The ski area is in a mall that also houses a waterpark, golf range, spa and children's play zone, as well as shopping and restaurants. Ski tickets are available for 3.5 hour sessions beginning at 9:00am, 2:00pm and 6:00pm. For an additional $7 or so you can combine two sessions, which is what I did. The total for 7 hours of skiing plus equipment rentals was about $40. You can also rent jackets, pants and gloves for an additional fee. Helmets, which are required on the upper slope and in the terrain park, are free of charge. I packed my own helmet, ski pants and a very light rain jacket, which I found to provide more than sufficient warmth. The rental skis were Nordica Olympia Mints and the boots were some rear-entry model I've since forgotten.
The slopes are accessed via a magic carpet / supermarket shopping cart conveyer belt. This was fine on the lower slope, but posed problems on the upper slope, where, due to the increased pitch, I had to keep hold on the handrail or risk sliding down into the skier behind me. Eventually I began taking my skis off on the ride up.
The main slope was largely skied off from the first run. They have a groomer (see below), but apparently did not use it prior to my first session. I stuck to the edges where some small moguls were beginning to form. About half an hour into the session, they dropped the ropes on their dedicted mogul run and I spent the next two hours lapping it with about 15 other skiers, half of who were very good and at least two of whom who were competition level. I was not able to communicate much with them, but there appears to be a thriving mogul scene in Korea. I saw a lot of dedicated moguls skis: Hart F-17s, Twisters, ID-Ones. There were even a few snowboarders who were able to ride the moguls pretty well.
The mogul run had two seeded lines about 100m in length. According to the website, the slope is 15 degrees. The moguls were firm but edgeable and had fairly deep troughs. There were no kickers, but they have an airbag, which was not set up while I was there. The moguls were perfect for working on technique and improving speed and confidence. I was glad I spent the extra money for the two-session ticket, as they rope off the mogul run about half an hour before the session ends and I was not finished yet.
I was pleasantly surprised that to find that indoor skiing could actually be enjoyable for more than than the novelty factor. I doubt that Xanadu (if it ever opens) would ever consider devoting any of its terrain to mogul skiers, but I think it might be a good idea. Advanced and expert skiers who prefer steeps and trees and powder are unlikely to be attracted to indoor skiing, but based on what I saw in Bucheon, decent mogul skiers would be quite content to lap a short intermediate level mogul run year round.
Below are some grainy photos taken by blackberry.
Looking down the right line:
Looking up the magic carpet
Groomer:
Making snow:
More moguls:
