Seolnal Vacation: Day 2: Skiing & More Skiing

Date: 2/4/2011

For Day Two at Phoenix Park, we had purchased a morning and afternoon pass as part of the Adventure Korea Trip.  So, we could start on the slopes at 8.30 in the morning!

We get up fairly early--around 7.30.  I wake up with that sheer determination: "I'm on vacation!  I'm going to do EVERYTHING today!"

As I'm waiting for someone in the shower--before we go to breakfast--one of the Korean Adventure Korean staff members points to Katrina's French Braid and asks if she can do that to her.  Katrina says, she can do it to herself, but not other people.  Which quickly makes me pipe up and go, "I can do it to other people!"

As doing Yeon Jeong's hair I am very thankful that I did marching band in high school--the great skills like French Braiding that you have to learn in order to shove all your hair up into a shako!

I'm a little sore that morning--but not very badly.  Just I knew that it was just going to get worse.  And, surprisingly, I was look forward to it!

At 8 am we hear some sore of commotion outside our room and look out the window.  The ski patrol members are doing their morning exercises.

It was a very Asian warm-up.  They ran through their exercises like little soldiers.  It was interesting to see.

After breakfast, we change into our ski outfits.  Yesterday Scott and I had noticed we basically match.  More Couples Outifts!

We head out to the slopes at 8.35 and I am revving to go.  We head to a different Beginner Slope than yesterday, just to warm up and get our skis/boards underneath us.  

It was awesome.  We were some of the only people on the slope.  Literally.  I think I would pass two or three people on the way down.  Talk about awesome.  This also equated to lots of practice!  I pretty quickly picked back up where I had left off yesterday and start to figure out that weaving pattern that skiiers do--slaloming?

By the end of the morning session, Scott and I take the gondola up to the very top of the mountain, have a cup of tea, take a couple pictures and then go down the Green-Blue-Gree slopes (Easy, intermediate, Easy).  It was the first Intermediate slope I had done after the very first slope from yesterday and I was understandably nervous--but also I felt stronger after actually figuring out how skiing work.

Between you and me, I was actually very proud of myself.  I don't consider myself an athletic person--at least not in the regular sense of the word.  I don't like regular sports: basketball, football, etc.  So to excel--and I actually excelled--at something as physically demanding as skiing gave me this huge thrill.  I finally started to understand why my younger brother likes to work out and get that shaky feeling in his muscles.  Because after skiing, being sore felt good!  I felt like I had accomplished something.

ANyway, back to gondola:

Love this shot.

Up we go!

While going up the gondola we came across this Rabbit/Kangaroo statue on the slopes.   Have no idea what the Koreans were thinking by putting it there, but it was strange and I took a picture of it.

Up at the top!  The view of the city/golf resort that makes up the rest of Pyeongchang.

Behind Scott is one of the Black Diamond Courses.  Talk about a drop!

 Smile!

 This is one of about five Black Diamond courses.  The coffee shop was located right next to the drop so it was fun to watch the boarders go crazy.

 One thing that really shocked me was how YOUNG some of the kids were going down Black Diamonds....  This little kid in black can't be more than 10 but he's skiing down like this is a normal activity!  Granted, if he falls and breaks his leg, he is still growing so it wouldn't be as bad as an adult falling, and seriously, do kids really fear anything?  But still!

 You know you shouldn't attempt a course A) if you're not ready and B) if you can't see the slope because the decline is too steep.

We went down the Green-Blue-Green course and I had a blast. It was a rush turning the corner, seeing the intermediate course for the first time, and going, "Hell Yeah, I'm going to do that!"  You're going so fast, your ears are freezing, and your legs are straining, but you can't help but let out a crazed laugh as you fly down the mountain.  I found that I literally eat my chap stick when I ski.  I bite, nibble, and chew on my lips so that I loose chap stick almost as fast as I can put it on.

We did one last course before going to lunch--the other Green-Blue-Green Course on the left side of the mountain.  We get up to the top and start down, realizing that there are definately different levels of Easy.  This easy was just a TAD bit more difficult than the others.  It was probably the steepest course I had done all week!  That was a rush to ski down.  It was fun, but it was also another chap-stick eater!

I was so glad Scott and I were able to hang out that morning.  It was a lot of fun to have someone to meet at the bottom of the slopes and to enjoy talking to someone while going up the lift.  We head back to the room and I peel out of my ski suit.  I am so surprised how much you sweat when skiing--even though it is so cold.

I also discover how much my muscles are not used to the workout.

After lunch--Dominos Pizza--Scott and I went back to the slopes.  Sarah had taken a nap that morning, so we dragged her up the gondola.  She was scared, but it was great chance to take some photos and I htink she enjoyed seeing the top of the mountain.  She skiied a little bit that afternoon.

I stayed out the rest of the afternoon, skiing, exercising some demons.  I re-did the intermediate course that I had so badly baffoon-ed on the first day.  And I kicked it's butt!  I got down it twice without falling, then I got over confident again, and fell down a couple times the third time, but I didn't even care!  I had shown marked progress and absolutely loved it!

I was so ready for the water park by the end of the day.  My muscles were lovingly sore, it hurt to walk, to move, to stretch, and to breathe, but I felt wonderful.  We headed off to the Water Park, grabbing another PopEye's chicken sandwich on the way.  We couldn't really take any pictures in the water park, but I will leave you with this image of Scott and his "togs" (Kiwi for swimming suit).