snowmonster
New member
Date(s) Skied: 2/7/2015
Resort or Ski Area: Jisan Forest Resort (Icheon City, Korea)
Conditions: Warm, snow firm but getting slushy at the bottom, man-made snow, frozen granular. Cloudy in the morning and clearing up to bluebird sunny in the afternoon.
Trip Report:
Because I knew that one day on snow would not be enough, I got on a tour bus the day after my YongPyong adventure and headed to Jisan Forest Resort, which is about an hour away on the outskirts of Seoul. Jisan is where people from Seoul go to get their ski fix at any time of the day or night since it has lights. It's not a destination resort but it's a hill and there's snow on it. For us skiers, that's all we need.
The tour company picked me up from my hotel at around 730 am. We picked up a Filipino couple who were up for snow tubing and a college kid from Malaysia who was a never-ever. The price of the tour included ski instruction -- from the bus driver. Not the way I would do it but, hey, to each his own.
Anyway, we got to the mountain at around 9 am and it was pretty much mobbed like any ski hill on a winter Saturday. The tour guide said that we should be on the bus at 2 pm so we could visit the ginseng museum. Since it wasn't a big hill, I figured that 5 hours would be more than enough. We rented skis and boots at the shop across the street. I insisted on getting the only boots in the shop that were not rear-entry. Note to self: next time, bring your own boots.
Jisan reminds me of Wachusset or perhaps a bigger Blue Hill ski area. There are 5 slopes -- 2 green, 2 blue and 1 black with three lifts. There's a huge food court on the bottom of the hill as well as up top. While the greens and learning areas are choked full off learners and people careening out of control, the black trails had all these very good skiers just maching down the runs.
Since I had my ski legs back, I decided to get in as many runs as I could on whatever trail was in front of me. I worked on turn shape, speed, control, weight distribution and all the other drills that make you a better skier. There was even a bump run down one trail (just like Wachusett) and I tried going down it. I am happy to say that, after all these years, I still suck at bumps!
At lunch time, I stopped in at the small hut on the summit. No one spoke English and so, by pointing at the pots of several patrons, I was able to order a bowl of ramen which I paired with a small side dish of kimchi (these side dishes called banchan are a staple of Korean meals and come free). Nothing warms you up like a good ramen and, I think, every ski resort on the planet ought to have a ramen bar.
After lunch, I was scooting along and met the only non-Asian person on the hill -- a soldier from New York who was stationed at the US base in Seoul. After ribbing each other about the Patriots and Jets, we went off on separate directions.
I tackled the black trail, which was nicely steep and long. Too bad that it was pretty wide. If it had been half its width, it would be a legitimately scary run. I thought I was going down fast until some skiers just blew past me on my right. Whoa! I wanted to race them but, being on rental equipment, I eased up and let gravity do its job. Note to self: get all ski gear back from Boston.
At 2 pm, like a good tourist, I got back on the van. The kid from Malaysia sat beside me and told me how his lesson went. He said that, at the end of the day, he got on the lift and finally skied down from the top of the green trail. He was pumped and the smile on his face was indescribable. Man, we all felt that, didn't we?
I asked him if he would ski again and he said: definitely! Another skier is born.
One planet under snow. Ski the Far East!
Resort or Ski Area: Jisan Forest Resort (Icheon City, Korea)
Conditions: Warm, snow firm but getting slushy at the bottom, man-made snow, frozen granular. Cloudy in the morning and clearing up to bluebird sunny in the afternoon.
Trip Report:
Because I knew that one day on snow would not be enough, I got on a tour bus the day after my YongPyong adventure and headed to Jisan Forest Resort, which is about an hour away on the outskirts of Seoul. Jisan is where people from Seoul go to get their ski fix at any time of the day or night since it has lights. It's not a destination resort but it's a hill and there's snow on it. For us skiers, that's all we need.
The tour company picked me up from my hotel at around 730 am. We picked up a Filipino couple who were up for snow tubing and a college kid from Malaysia who was a never-ever. The price of the tour included ski instruction -- from the bus driver. Not the way I would do it but, hey, to each his own.
Anyway, we got to the mountain at around 9 am and it was pretty much mobbed like any ski hill on a winter Saturday. The tour guide said that we should be on the bus at 2 pm so we could visit the ginseng museum. Since it wasn't a big hill, I figured that 5 hours would be more than enough. We rented skis and boots at the shop across the street. I insisted on getting the only boots in the shop that were not rear-entry. Note to self: next time, bring your own boots.
Jisan reminds me of Wachusset or perhaps a bigger Blue Hill ski area. There are 5 slopes -- 2 green, 2 blue and 1 black with three lifts. There's a huge food court on the bottom of the hill as well as up top. While the greens and learning areas are choked full off learners and people careening out of control, the black trails had all these very good skiers just maching down the runs.
Since I had my ski legs back, I decided to get in as many runs as I could on whatever trail was in front of me. I worked on turn shape, speed, control, weight distribution and all the other drills that make you a better skier. There was even a bump run down one trail (just like Wachusett) and I tried going down it. I am happy to say that, after all these years, I still suck at bumps!
At lunch time, I stopped in at the small hut on the summit. No one spoke English and so, by pointing at the pots of several patrons, I was able to order a bowl of ramen which I paired with a small side dish of kimchi (these side dishes called banchan are a staple of Korean meals and come free). Nothing warms you up like a good ramen and, I think, every ski resort on the planet ought to have a ramen bar.
After lunch, I was scooting along and met the only non-Asian person on the hill -- a soldier from New York who was stationed at the US base in Seoul. After ribbing each other about the Patriots and Jets, we went off on separate directions.
I tackled the black trail, which was nicely steep and long. Too bad that it was pretty wide. If it had been half its width, it would be a legitimately scary run. I thought I was going down fast until some skiers just blew past me on my right. Whoa! I wanted to race them but, being on rental equipment, I eased up and let gravity do its job. Note to self: get all ski gear back from Boston.
At 2 pm, like a good tourist, I got back on the van. The kid from Malaysia sat beside me and told me how his lesson went. He said that, at the end of the day, he got on the lift and finally skied down from the top of the green trail. He was pumped and the smile on his face was indescribable. Man, we all felt that, didn't we?
I asked him if he would ski again and he said: definitely! Another skier is born.
One planet under snow. Ski the Far East!
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