Mid-January I had a Saturday off and Jari was gracious enough to let me go skiing. ITT (the company on base that caters to the military for tourism deals) arranges these trips regularly so I rented some gear and jumped on a bus in the early morning hours and 3 hours later we were at what the North Americans refer to as "Dragon Valley" Ski Resort which is located on the west side of South Korea
Here is Dr. Bosshardt, one of the ER docs I work with. She also made the trip. This is actually at the end of the day. Her boyfriend was on the other bus as they showed up early compared to us so we had to take the only seats we could find.
Rest stops in Korea are amazing! They are not just a place to grab a soda and use the facilities. They are essentially an outdoor strip mall with multiple food courts. Time for America to upgrade. Just saying.
Turns out that Lauren (Dr. Boss) had only skied a few times, and her boyfriend - never. So I rode the bunny hill with them and started to give a crash course in skiing. He insisted that we carry on without him so the 3 (Ryan's friend came with us) of us did so. After another run, we got separated for a time, so I went to the top of the hill.
Not much snow. Most of it was machine-made but it was still fun.
A few more views show the lack of natural snow.
A view from the lift heading up. Different from my time skiing in UT where I would have conversations with whoever I was riding with. Hard to do when I don't speak Korean.
Again, not much snow. Sorry if you have to turn your head to the left to see this one.
One unique thing about skiing here was that there is a third type of sportsman you have to share the slopes with (the first 2 being skiers and snowboarders): trekkers. No, I am not referring to Star Trek. A favorite pastime here in Korea is hiking or trekking. Koreans are VERY serious about their outdoor wear/gear; it seems to be its own fashion industry, and the people put it to good use. They ride the tram to the top and then hike down the mountain on the side of the runs just outside the boundary. This picture was my attempt to get a photo with them.
Another view from the top.
The lunch was amazing. This beef soup (half a spine with the meat around the bone) with delicious potatoes, Kimchi x multiple types, and some rice. So good. I have never been that warm and full after lunch on the hill before. Well done Korea, well done.
Here is a line of people waiting for the tram to take us to the top.
It took forever to get on the gondola, and then the ride was still a slow one. I was hoping to make the trip only twice (once again after lunch)... but something happened at the bottom of the hill.
While riding up the hill just after lunch I got a call from Lauren. "Hey Fred, So... I think (insert boyfriend's name) dislocated his shoulder and I cannot get it back in." -- "Wait a minute Lauren, you are the ER doc, I thought you were the expert on that, and you are calling me?!?! You do know I have only assisted putting a shoulder back in twice right? And both of them were sedated... (conversation goes on). Sure I will be right down."
I skied to the bottom and found this poor guy with his arm hanging over the back of a chair. The problem was that he is tall and Korean chairs are designed for, well Koreans, who are not too tall on average. So after some scouting, I found a brick wall where we moved and had him lay on his belly, then the pulling began. After about 10-15 min of pulling, and then come gentle external rotation I felt that gristly grinding and a pop followed by a sigh of relief from said boyfriend.
All I can say is that I admire the guy for going through that without drugs to help. He was cool with the picture but I will leave his name out of this.
Here is a quick photo of him post-reduction.
We did get a little snow at the end of the day when these clouds rolled in. Oh, and here are more people trekking down the mountain.
This is cool - at the bottom of the hill, there are stations where they have air compressors to clean off your skis. I am sure they double for dusting off boots in the summer.
Overall a fun day. I will admit that learning to ski in UT did not prepare me for the ice on the hill (thus resulting in some slips and a sore backside) but it was still an enjoyable experience. Thanks to Jari for letting me go.
Comments