Going Alone at Yong Pyong Resort

I was a huge advocate of a ski vacation this Lunar New Year’s, but there was little buy-in from most of my friends.  The most enthusiastic of my skiing buddies spent their Lunar New Year someplace warmer, and the rest of my friends favored partying in Seoul.  Truthfully, I cannot blame them, as one friend broke a rib at Phoenix Park, after some knucklehead on a snowboard ran into her.  This incident seems to have made my friends a bit apprehensive about skiing in general, so I didn’t make any big plans for the Lunar New Year.  But, as the time neared, and as I realized that nearly everything outside of the city would be closed, like Chuseok last year, skiing just made sense.  So I began to plan a ski trip for one.  The resort I chose was Yong Pyong, Korea’s largest and most visited resort.

Of all the resorts in Korea, Yong Pyong Resort in Pyeongchang is by far the most accessible for English speakers.  The reason is that it’s a fast growing global resort with an international name, thanks to years of aggressively bidding for the Winter Olympics.  (May it win in 2018.)  Everyone at the resort was able to speak to me in English, however basic and rudimentary.  Even in the town, I found a rental shop, Dr. Snow, that had an English-speaking owner.  Because of this, the same 45% lift ticket discounts that Koreans get when they rent from him apply to me, and every other English speaker who walks into the shop!

You’d be amazed at some of the people who come here.  Most obvious is the dedicated and not-so dedicated skiing expats, who have no family to visit, no special attachment or tradition for the day, and virtually nothing to do for the Lunar New Year.  But they aren’t just from here: expats come from all over.  On my first trip up the gondola I met a family from South Africa who lived in Shanghai, and were looking for a hopping place with decent ski to spend the holiday.  They were so pleased with the fact that almost every seemed to speak English in Korea (which was simultaneously curious to me, and a testament to our worth!).  Also at the resort were a surprising number of Chinese and Indians, which is a reminder that there’s fast growing middle class in both countries, where there are pocketfuls of new wealth being created, and only so many ways to spend it.  For so much of this new middle class, the best skiing in Asia, Japan, is too expensive, but Korea is still affordable.

The people who don’t come here on Lunar New Years are the Korean amateur skiers and boarders, the people that turn the wide, easy slopes of the beginner runs into the more dangerous runs on the mountain!  The Koreans that do come are the die-hard enthusiasts and experts.  And for some reason, the ones I ran into spoke perfect English.  If ever a set of days to ski in Korea, these are them.

The first friendly Korean I met on the gondola up to the Rainbow Runs, the most challenging area of the mountain, and most likely in all of Korea.  The man, Sungsan, had been a skier all his life and owned a membership complete with a locker.  We enjoyed each other on the lifts and talked about our skiing stories.  He talked about the superiority of skiing in Japan, and how incredible his trip to Whistler Blackcomb was the year prior.  But he was proud and happy to have such a nice resort within three hours from Seoul.

“Seoul is very beautiful, but it is too big, and there is air pollution.  I go here to get away from the city life, to get some fresh air, to renew my spirits.  Seoul is one of the only cities I know in the world with a resort like this only two hours away.  You can’t get that in New York, or LA, or England.”

The gondola ride was a 20 minutes long, scenic tour of the mountains of Pyeongchang, and several difficult runs could be seen in the distance.  I was so happy to see what the first genuine black diamonds I’ve seen in Korea that I popped out of the door in a rush, ready to bolt down the slopes.  The top of the resort was slightly colder, and the snow was slightly crunchier than the rest with some icy patches, but the gondola offers access to the Rainbow Runs, four difficult runs that are Korea’s must-ski runs.  Sangsun and I had different styles, with me speeding down the hill like a maniac and with him taking frequent stops to check the slopes and maintain a reasonable speed.  Good Korean skiers tend to be more technical, emphasizing quick turns and technique over speed.  I find this ironic; as every run I’ve ever skied down in Korea has been meticulously groomed, so quick turns are usually unnecessary. Needless to say, he was not impressed with my “power-skiing” and told me I should steer with my skis, not my body.  But by the time the late afternoon break came around, Sangsun and I had bonded.  We skied down Rainbow Paradise, an easy blue run that favor scenic views over steeps, Korea’s longest run at 5.2 kilometers.  And then he invited me to his condominium where we shared a meal of fruit, ramen, and gimbap with his friends, his ski instructor, his instructor’s twin brother, and his instructor’s girlfriend, who made the meal as I sat and listened to the gentlemen speak in Korean.  I’m not sure how I get myself surrounded by native Koreans so frequently, but I think it has something to do with living in Korea.

Evening came, and it was time to mess up some freshly groomed snow.  The Gold side of the mountain is the other challenging portion, and unlike the Rainbow runs, Gold is open during the evening.  It proved to be the run that all the most advanced skiers flocked to.  Because of all the skiers who knew what they were doing, moguls were beginning to form by the end of the night, though I knew they’d be groomed away by the time morning came.  The Gold runs are slightly longer than Rainbow, but also less steep.  My only complaint is that the lift takes a solid ten minutes from top to bottom, which on a freezing night after a full day of skiing, might as well be forever.

Après Ski

Unfortunately, Sangsun had a family and couldn’t make it back on Thursday, the Lunar New Year, as he had to eat the meal his wife would cook for him.  So for the next day I skied mainly by myself, hitting the Gold, Red, and Rainbow tracks as hard as possible, trying to gain more and more speed.  By 9:30 PM, I had felt sufficiently satisfied with my time and Yong Pyong and decided that it was time for après ski.

For the vast majority of my ski trips in Korea, après ski has consisted of a lot of beer and liquor in a room at a pension, but this time I was by myself, and stayed in the hostel.  Fortunately, the resort had an excellent après ski scene.  Yong Pyong Tower served as the center of the scene, with a Family Mart selling ramen, dollar cheeseburgers and gimbap, and hundreds of bottles of booze for the Ramen-eating types, a karaoke bar on the second floor, a spa, a PC bang so you can play video games and check your email, and the Dragon Plaza, which features a nifty blacklight bowling alley, a pool hall, a bar, and an arcade station (with Pump it Up 2!).  The atmosphere is impeccable and it was easily the most fun I’ve had on a Korean after-ski romp.  I made friends with some fellow foreigners and we had a couple beers, chilled out, and enjoyed nightlife under the blacklight.  Just don’t “mix and match” activities: The staff at the bowling alley didn’t like it when a couple of my new friends brought beer from Family Mart to drink in the arcade, as they have their own bar downstairs.

True to stereotype, the hostel was also alive with après ski activity, most of it unwelcome, all the way till 3:15 in the morning.  It’s a nice hostel, but if you’re going to stay there, I’d recommend purchasing earplugs, especially if you’re a guy (all the guys are in one room, and each night I was treated to a rhapsody of farts and snores.)

Most of the Koreans I met noted that High 1 Resort, 30 kilometers away, had slightly better snow.  So Yong Pyong Resort may not have the best snow in the country, but it has highest peaks, the longest, most scenic run in the country, some genuine challenge courses, and slopes for all levels.  It’s one of the finest resorts in continental Asia, and for an international destination, it’s remarkably affordable.  It’s a resort that Koreans can be proud of, and I’m convinced it’s the best place to go for lunar New Year, even if you’re by yourself.  So make be sure to make it there before the skiing ends in March. Or better yet, make it a Lunar New Year’s Tradition.  Next year, traveler, next year.

Phillip Ruane, Guri-si, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea

• How to get there: Take an express bus from Gangbyeong Bus Terminal to Pyeongchang, and take the shuttle (which runs every half hour) into the resort.
• Cost: Rent through Dr. Snow and save up to 45% on the lift ticket.  Two days of skiing is about 120,000, plus lodging (22,000) and food and drink (25,000-100,000).
• Contact info: Here’s the website, in English

…brought to you by the Adventure Teaching Korea team…

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