Pixs of Kids Enjoying Themselves

This is the artificial ice which Yongpyong uses for its slopes at the start of their skiing season. It is coarser and those at the edge of the ski slopes resembles shaved ice like the "ice balls" which I had in my childhood.

From one of the documentaries I have seen on TV, large sprinklers are used to create the artificial snow. This method costs more and there are concerns over environmental issues. See Responsible Skiing.

[Top: Pathway leading to the main hall hosting the ski centre and the gondola to Dragon Peak.]

Skiing at Yongpyong

The package to Yongpyong includes equipping, a short ski lesson and half a day skiing on the slopes. Following the descent from Dragon Peak, the whole group proceeded to collect our skiing equipment at the ski centre. Equipments provided include the boots, skis and the poles. The boots was really restricted and the movement after wearing one is robotic. Walking is rather difficult especially when you are indoors.

The ski instruction is about half an hour and we were taught the basics: how to slip on and off the skis, falling off "gracefully" so that you would not hurt yourself and the most important of all, how to stop.

[Above picture: Instructor is the one in Red ski suit]

For beginner, the only technique would to bring the tips of your together, like an inverted V. Even then, if you are coming off the a slight slope, stopping takes a lot of efforts.

Well, the fun part is to ski down the slope but the journey back up is tiring with the restrictive boots and lugging the skis and poles.

Dragon Peak - More Pixs

Dragon Peak

This is the first occasion that our family have encountered snow and I must say that we can now relate to the phrase "winter wonderland". Unfortunately, the weather was not too kind and we could not see the surrounding landscape.

And last but not least, you cannot miss the significant of the place with all the posters.

Skiing at Yongpyong - Cont'd

We checked out from Greenpia and proceeded for breakfast.

Before, we started skiing, we took the cable car to Dragon Peak. Han Wave aficionados would recall the wonderful sight in the serial Winter Sonata. The trip up to Dragon Peak was really pretty as it had snowed two days earlier. We were fortunate as it was the start of the winter season and it was not supposed to snow then. In fact, the ski slope are formed by artifical snow.

Skiing at Yongpyong

We were fortunate to go the Yongpyong Ski Resort during holiday to South Korea with Chan Brothers last year. The trip from Seoul to Yongpyong took us about three hours by coach as it was raining. As it was winter, at about 1730H, it was already dark. We stopped at the ourskirt of the resort to have our dinner - steam boat - it was perfect for such a cold weather. Thereafter, we proceeded to collect our ski clothing for use the next day. Although the clothing is included in the tour package, we have to pay for our ski googles. Even if you have forgotten to bring your own gloves, you can buy it at the ski equipment rental shop.

[Photo taken the next day when we returned the skiing equipment]

After collecting our ski equipment, we proceeded to Yongpyong for our overnight stay at Greenpia - one of the few accommodation available at the resort. The rooms were Korean-styled ondol, which has heated flooring.

One of the room allocated to us faces the ski slopes and it was a great sight.

The next morning, we changed into our ski clothing and before we checked out, we managed to take more pictures of the wonderful sights which lie just a doorstep away.