We left from Yongsan Station at 11:30pm and arrived in the resort area at about 4am. At that time we were able to sleep in a cheap pension for w5,000 each. We got up at 7:15am with plans to rent equipment and be on the slopes by 8:30.
But few things ever work out as planned and that day was case-in-point. The van driver was confused, we didn't get our equipment at the right place, we didn't have lift tickets (though they were already pre-paid and so we didn't want to re-buy them), and to make matters worse, when trying to get on the free shuttle bus to the rental equipment place we ended up taking the wrong bus and driving for 1.5 hrs instead of the 5 minutes we were expecting. oops.
By the time we were on the slopes and everything was in the clear it was noon. But no matter. We had a great time snowboarding and honestly I couldn't have handled skiing all day anyway. It was cold and snowing. But damn it was beautiful.
I spent most of my day with a guy named Ian who studied English at Wooster College in Ohio though he is actually from Minnesota. We were pretty evenly matched skill-wise and he was good company. These pictures are actually all his since I temporarily misplaced my travel camera.
The chairlift up to the top of the mountain bore some of the most stunning views I have ever seen. I felt like I was in a magical fairyland with its perfectly glazed white trees and epic views of the land below, reflecting the sun's rays like an opened treasure box glistening with gold.
When we finally made it to the top of the top of the lift and saw this pagoda I think I felt my heart skip a beat. It was stunning. The way the snow clung to certain parts of the pagoda was magnificent.
Inside the pagoda we saw the craziest thing. There was a Korean family all huddled together around a kerosene lamp drinking tea and eating lunch. None of them were in skiing regalia. I can just imagine the conversation... "Hey kids, we are going to take the gondola up Muju today and have some family bonding in the bitter cold." "Can we go snowboarding, dad?" "No, son. We will just freeze our asses off and watch foreigners stare at us in bewilderment instead"
But man was it cold. It was really really cold. It was a good thing the ride up was so beautiful otherwise I would not have forgiven Muju Resort, for the ride down was pure hell. Picture yourself snowboarding down an ice skating rink at a 45-degree angle and you have an idea of what it was like. I couldn't get any traction on the hill and I fell on my knees quite a few times, bruising them up pretty badly.
By the time I got back home it was close to midnight on Saturday. Even with our crazy bus adventure, the bitter cold, and the icy slope of death, it was a great day. I was glad to have met some new, great people and get out on the board again.
AND! This weekend I'm going snowboarding again at Phoenix Park!
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