This Friday, I flew back home. I’ve just arrived in Rio and, you know what? The last three months in Seoul were nothing short of pure, distilled amazeballs: my Korean improved quite a lot after 200 gruelling hours in the classroom (not to mention the extra homework), I threw myself board first down snowy mountains all over the peninsula, and I ice-skated like Alyssa Liu’s slightly defective, flan flavoured cousin.

The clubbing was not too bad either, although responsibilities got in the way of being the reckless older guy shuffling all night long too often

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What's the riding like in Korea? What is the snow/conditions like? Where did you snowboard?

I went to both Konjiam, a premium resort on the outskirts of Seoul, and Elysian, a cheaper place to the northeast of the city. It's worth pointing out that I only visited resorts near Seoul itself (there's another popular spot called Vivaldi Park, but I didn't get the chance to go). Elysian’s selling point is that not only is it much cheaper than competing resorts, it's also easily accessible by rail - I took my final exams in central Seoul, went straight to the slopes in a single train ride, and still managed to have fun for quite a few hours. Konjiam is way more expensive and harder to reach, but it feels like heaven once you actually get there. The overall best resorts (Mona Yongpyong, High1 Resort, and Muju Deogyusan) are further away.

Anyway, compared to the other places whose mountains have seen me get wrecked by frozen water flakes and gravity (Bariloche in Argentina and Nagano in Japan), snowboarding around Seoul is worth it if, and only if, you already happen to be in the city and can't make it further into Gangwon-do. Seoul winters are usually shiveringly cold but also extremely dry, so the snowfall is... pretty underwhelming. This is what Elysian looked like last Tuesday:



The sole reason snowboarding was possible is that they kept cranking up the snow cannons at regular intervals, and there were spots where the slush had already turned into one giant ice block. Konjiam in December wasn't much different, so this isn't a one-off. Konjiam has better infrastructure overall, with better rental gear, although the slopes at Elysian were more fun. Maybe I'll give the better spots a try next time, but I think they're only worth visiting if you stay overnight or something.

What is it like in your neck of the woods?

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Very cool! I've always wondered about the terrain in that part of the world.


At my home resort conditions can be pretty variable. I ski at Blue Mountain in Collingwood which is part of the Niagara Escarpment. It's right off of Georgian Bay, on Lake Huron, so the hill can get quite windy some days, particuarly the North side. If it's a good winter overall the area gets a ton of natural snowfall but the resort makes snow and the runs are well groomed. The conditions this year have been the best I'd say since I started getting a pass there, just due to the winter we've had.

The "mountain" (it's definitely NOT a real mountain lol) is the largest ski area in Ontario by many metrics. Decently varied terrain. Four terrain parks. A few glade areas. The blacks and double blacks are steep and icy but not crazy challenging as the hill's elevation is only 450m with a 220m vertical.

East Coast in general here and the US is referred to as "ice coast" and on lots of days the name fits lol.

I was in Quebec at the end of January at Le Massif and it was incredible. SO much snow. Really well run and maintained resort. Great challenging terrain. It's an hour and a half outside of Quebec City so it's not a crazy busy place which is nice; however, it just became part of Ikon this year so I suspect that's going to change. The chalet we booked was part of a huge brand new lodging development. Stunning views of the St. Lawrence River. Hot tub. Wood stove. HEAVEN.

We're heading out to Banff this week!

I'd like to get to some places in the US but I've no intention of going THERE any time soon.

Last edited by Silky Johnson on Mar-02-2026 at 16:39

It’s not so bad here, truly.

quote:

Originally posted by Hyperborean It’s not so bad here, truly.

While mostly true, I think many are boycotting the US because of the actions of our elected officials.

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Yeah, exactly.

good for you and everyone that does so!! I'm hoping they push back the Summer Olympics to 2029.

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It's not the time to remain neutral, Imo. Shame on the complacent.

quote:

Originally posted by Silky Johnson It's not the time to remain neutral, Imo. Shame on the complacent.

Where's the "like" button at?!?!?

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Heading to see the women's UCLA (University of California LA) gymnastics team competition on Saturday with our girls. Hoping for a bit of athletic inspiration.

Maybe a bottle of wine for mommy and daddy tonight.

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