Beginners at Bears Town

by Lauren Manuel

Hailing from the Southern Hemisphere, I had never before attempted to launch myself off a snowy mountain face in a pair of skis.  I already feel uncomfortable about having to layer myself in a beanie, puffy jacket and thermals until I‘m warm and appear twice my size.  But this season I was in sub-zero temperatures, in Seoul and looking for thrilling activities to keep my visiting brother and two cousins entertained.   Now seemed like the perfect time to take risks, embrace adventure and figure out what people had fun when it was this cold.  

Bus to Bears town

I discovered that Bears Town Resort was just on the outskirts of Seoul, recommended as being great for beginners and offered a free shuttle bus tour.  Dressed to ward off wind chill, our group took the train to a place where the shuttle bus was waiting.  Off the train, standing beneath the bridge, we waited.  No bus appeared.  Perhaps there had been a waiting area I didn’t know about.  Figuring it was time to make other travel arrangements, we took a train and bus that dropped us in the middle of Korean Country and by some miracle within the vicinity of the Resort.  We had made it, but not before embarking on a climb up the hill.

Skiing for Beginners

Upon arrival, I made sure that the receptionist noted that we were foreign and required an English-speaking instructor.  Reassured that we would be in safe hands, I made my way to the Korean-style room.  Luckily I had lived in Korea long enough to not become alarmed at the sight of thin mats in the place of beds.  After renting the skis and taking photos in the snow that hopefully made me look professional, it was time to meet our instructor. His friendly and patient nature help put me at ease during our lesson and I quickly found my knees bending while maneuvering slightly to the left, then right. I was skiing!  I asked a few more questions to assist my technique only to discover his English was limited to about four words.  “Hello”, “left”, “right” and “good”.  By the end of the hour, I was slightly fearful that he wasn’t able to say “be careful”, “slow down” or “try again”.  But judging from the smile on everyone’s faces and the speed at which my brother moved down our incline, it seemed as if we would survive.

Night on the slopes

The ski lift took us past a forest on our right, above the many skiers flying down the hill and to the top of slope where the entire white mountain and resort glistened in the night lights. My cousin seemed more than willing to be the first to launch herself over the edge. So we pumped her up with encouragement and watched her go.  The lesson with four English words did not suffice, as she was heading towards a group of skiers at a rapid pace and panicking in an effort to slow down.  I heard screaming, watched her legs go into the splits before wiping out and just missing an unsuspecting soul.  Without thinking, the two boys and I burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter.  It was without a doubt one of the funniest moments I’d ever witnessed as she had barely made it a few meters down the hill.   Tears running down my face, it hit me that she might actually be hurt or even badly injured.  But she let us know she was alive and proceeded to walk down never to return or attempt to ski again.

Little Bear

Next my nineteen-year old brother proceeded to take to the slope like an Olympic skier.  Knees bent, elbows tightly to his sides, I prayed this is the stance I would naturally adopt on my path downwards.  It all seemed so simple until I tried to stop.  I didn’t need to stop, but the mere speed I was flying down at scared me to death.  I realized I had no idea how to stop.  All of a sudden it dawned on me that there was no way that this was a slope for beginners and that this is perhaps the way I was going to die.  I’m not quite sure how I stopped.  I think I may have tried to form a triangle with my skis which was unsuccessful and resulted in a major wipeout.  I couldn’t believe I was still alive, with no broken bones and felt more embarrassment than pain.  It turns out that we were skiing on the Family slope, when we should have been directed to the Little Bear slope for beginners.   No harm was done other than a bloody snow graze on my wrist and before I knew it, I was fearlessly heading up on the ski lift in search of another rush and sadly another wipeout.

If you find yourself in Seoul during the winter and ready for some winter sports, visit www.bearstown.com and study the site in English to get directions of where to find the shuttle bus from Seoul.  If you are a beginner try take a bilingual Korean friend with you.  But if you are an experienced skier, you will be fine.  Enjoy!