Muju! Skiing Korea

This past New Years Day (the Gregorian New Years of about a month and a half ago that is, not the Chinese New Year that took place this past weekend), I decided to take advantage of both the snow squall and the day off work to partake in one of my favourite activities, and one which has become somewhat of a New Year's tradition - Skiing!!!

Teaching the beginners at Muju.

Friends of mine had heard of a fairly cheep bus service, lift ticket and rental package (of both winter clothes and skis/boarding gear) all for under 100USD to the nearby resort Muju (무주) on Mt Deogyu (덕유산). Although not a huge mountain (Deogyusan's highest peak is at 1,614m, but the resort does not extend that high up), Muju has 34 runs -  including a few nice long ones down from the resort's highest peak (the longest is 6.1km) - and provides great skiing for those at the beginner and intermediate levels. It's not phenomenal for advanced skiers, but the harder runs (steepest is 60degress) do offer up some fun. It's central location on the peninsula also makes it easily accessible from just about anywhere in Korea.

As we went during a snow storm, we were also blessed with some great snow - which felt a lot more like biting ice in the high winds at the top. Nevertheless, we had a thoroughly enjoyable day on the slopes - made even better by the fact that Muju is open early until late! I have to say, there is definite merit in a ski hill that has its lifts open from 6:30 in the morning until 2am the next. Definitely my kind of hill!

A nicely frosted pagoda up at the top.

Anyone living in Gwangju who is looking to head over to Muju should check out (or have a Korean speaker check out) the packages here. You can also call 010-3648-7761 (Korean only). Muju's website can be found here (English option at top right).  

A Gala of Powder: Skiing Gala Yuzawa, Japan

Although I did not, unfortunately, have time to make it up to Hokkaido to ski the famed Niseko, I was still determined to get in on some of the much discussed Japanese powder :D. With my limited time, it seemed like my best option was to hop on the 75minute train from Tokyo's Ueno Station direct to the base of the Gondola at Gala Yuzawa for a day. Best choice ever. Lying within such easy access to Tokyo, Gala can often be crowded on weekends. Somehow, however, I managed to luck out and head over on a Sunday when the hill was relatively empty - something which may have had something to do with the nearly complete white-out conditions I found myself skiing in all day. While some people may enjoy seeing where they are skiing, there are also a number of benefits to white-outs - chief one of course, being the access to all that fresh powder!

Grabbing a photo from lower down on the mountain. This was the clearest it got all day.

Although the train ride from Tokyo to Gala Yuzawa isn't overly long, Gala is actually located on the other side of Honshu (the main Island), in Niigata Prefecture to the north of the Japanese Alps. It was really cool to see the day go from bright and sunny with no snow anywhere in Tokyo, to overcast with piles of snow up to my waist as we got further and further into the mountains. 

Coming down out of the fob bank as I head down toward the base of the gondola. 

Gala Yuzawa is not a particularly huge resort, with most of it's runs located on the top of the mountain, above the gondola. It also does not have particularly long or challenging runs - although there are quite a few fun black runs in the northern area and the 2.5km intermediate run to the base of the gondola makes for a nice ride (I imagine it's even nicer when you can see the view). What Gala does have - and in great quatities even when it's not a particularly snowy day - is exquisite powder. Living in Toronto, I'd forgotten how nice it was to ski on proper snow! While it may not be the best skiing on offer in Japan, it is definitely worth checking out if you have a free day - particularly if you have a JR Pass, in which case, the train ride is free.

Not-quite snow ghosts at the bottom of the mountain.

Overall, gear rental (clothes, accessories & skis/board) plus lift tickets runs for around $120 US per day (which is more than reasonable!), afternoon only (12-5) is just under a hundred. Sadly, Gala does not have any night skiing, but many of the resorts in the area do. For more info on Gala Yuzawa, click here.