Monday, February 09, 2009

Eden Valley Skiing

To paraphrase Jerry Seifeld: "Skiing is a lot like pizza. Even when its bad, its still pretty good." Well I couldn't agree more and certainly can't remember ever having a bad day on the slopes.

A new friend of mine, Soon Jeong invited me to join her and her family on a skiing vacation. Her family and their in laws had evidently rented a condo at a resort North of Busan called Eden Valley (although they don't pronounce it quite the same).

The only problem was this region of Korea gets little to no actual snow. so all the snow in the area is artificial. So after driving a couple of hours up a steep rugged mountain, we illicitly snuck their little dog into the resort and waited for her in laws to arrive. The only problem was, none of them knew how to ski nor had they ever skied before.

I had mixed levels of success teaching her family. Her two children and husband took to it right away and had no trouble on any of the slopes. Soon Jeong herself though, despite a valiant effort on her part, wasn't as successful. I tried several things throughout the day, but she ultimately relented, vowing to try again another time.

Nevertheless, she was glad she had tried it and no longer feared it as the dangerous sport she'd always thought it was.

The artificial snow conditions were... interesting. Certainly a far cry from the crisp frozen powder that whips off of Rocky Mountain peaks in Colorado. I hope Coloradoans never take their state for granted. But like I said, you can always have a good time on the slopes.
Here's Soon Jeong's daughter and neice.

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