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).  

Volcanoes in the Snow - Hiking Hallasan

Truth be told, while I was eager to enjoy the other delights the Island has to offer, my primarily reason for visiting Jeju (and that of my companions as well) was to hike Hallasan (한라산) and complete the Korean hiking triumvirate of Jiri, Sorak & Halla.

Looking toward the peak from the Sara Crater detour.

Although Hallasan, at 1950m, is the tallest of Korea's three major mountains - and, indeed, of all of Korea's mountains - I would say that it offers the easiest hike for it's size.

My companions en route - these two are off to Nepal next - sooo jealous!

Quite possibly the best sign ever. We found this one on our route down.

Hallasan is home to a number of trails, only two of which reach all the way to the top. The 9.6km Seongpanak (성판악) route on the eastern side of the mountain, winds it's way mostly through the trees, providing a nice, gentle ascent. The 8.7km Gwaneumsa (관음사) route on the northern side by contrast, is a stunning but narrow trail with a great many stairs and a number of ups and downs. Knowing this, we chose to take the gentler route up and the harder route down. This proved to be a wise decision as most of the Koreans who went all the way to the top, also chose this route. 

Walking through trees on the Seongpanak ascent.

Our route choice proved to be a good one for another reason as well. About halfway up the Seongpanak route there is a 45minute detour to Sara Crater Lake (사라 오름-Sara Oreum) and a lookout point. Although the clouds mostly obscured the view from the lookout point, the crater and it's frozen lake made quite a pretty sight. 

the boardwalk lining Sara Oreum

Overall, the hike was absolutely gorgeous - possibly made even more so by the snow. We were also lucky in that we had a gorgeous clear day (above the cloud line that was) and not too much of the blustery wind that Jeju is so famous for. It should be noted that if you are planning to hike it in winter, cramp-ons are an absolute necessity (particularly on the way down). We picked ours up at the Seongpanak park entrance for about 10,000won ($10US). Nicer, more expensive ones were also available.

Windswept snow at the top.

More proof of Jeju's strong winds. This is on the northern side.

A further note for any planning to hike to the top - there are checkpoints on the mountain that you must pass by a certain time in order to be allowed to continue. A time sheet (along with route info) can be found here. We started off from the base at around 8:30 and had no trouble reaching the upward checkpoint by noon, even with our detour. The full round trip (with some rest time at the top and one of the shelters further down) took us until about 5pm at a moderate pace.

Up at the top.

Not what you expect from the peak of a volcano!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland - Mudeungsan in the Snow

Okay, so I may have lied when I said hiking season was coming to a close. Clearly I hadn't adequately considered the potential in combining two of my vary favourite things (No, not food. Though with me, that's always involved.) - hiking and snow!

Setting off from Jeungshim Temple (증심사).

This past weekend, a few friends and I decided to take advantage of the fresh snowfall to check out the views of and from Gwangju's Mt Mudeung (무등산) in the snow. Rather than taking the 1187 bus halfway up and doing the ridgewalk to the top, we decided to start right from the bottom at Jeungshim Temple so that we could stay warmer under the tree cover. We wound up hiking to the top via Jungbong (중봉- Jung Peak) and looping back around on our way down so that we could hit the famous Ipseokdae (입석대) rock formation on our way back to our starting point. Overall, the hike covered about 8 or 9km took us about 5 hours with all the snow.

A view of the city from partway between Jungmorijae and Jungbong. About 800m up.

It seemed like much of the older population of Gwangju was also on the mountain to play in the snow for the day - small wonder as brisk winds kept the clouds moving fast so that we often had clear blue skies.

Playing around in the snow en route.

As per usual, any time the locals glanced down at our feet and realised that we weren't wearing 'proper Korean hiking gear' (in this case cramp-ons and brightly coloured knee-high waterproof leg warmers - no joke!) there was a lot of clucking and shaking of heads in dismay (in my case, this may have been justified, my hiking shoes officially died yesterday, so I was hiking in dress boots - they were nice and cozy and warm though!).

Looking up toward the Seoseokdae (서석대) rock formation near the top. Standing on top of this at 1105m is the highest you can get on Mudeung as the peak (at 1187) is occupied by the military and cordoned off to the public.

Fortunately for us, the snow was still fresh enough that our lack of cramp-ons was in no way a factor (though it did make 'ski-ding' down the mountain at the end much more fun) and many of those we encountered were just happy to see foreigners so enjoying their mountain.

A view of the Ipseokdae (입석대) formation. They are huge! To give you some idea, if I were standing at the base of that pillar, my head still wouldn't make it into the picture!

Such a great day! There's nothing quite like going out to play in it to remind you just how awesome snow is!

Descending into a snow-covered Jeungshimsa on our return.