JEJU WEEKLY
Last Update : 2013.10.24 11:35
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Ski Jeju?A move to open up Mt. Halla to skiers
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½ÂÀÎ 2011.02.05  20:50:11
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¡ã Jeju provincial government hopes to attract as many visitors to Jeju in the winter as in the summer by offering amateur skiers and tourists the joy of downhill skiing on Mt. Halla, currently only enjoyed by professional climbers. Photo by Han Young Jun, Ulsan Climbing Club

Officially, skiing in The Hallasan National Park is strictly illegal. Park rangers prohibit any attempts to ski the mountain as they often lead to a difficult rescue operation and potential damage to the trails. However, there is an exception to every rule.

Members of the South Korean Black Beret special force have skied on the mountain for years during their annual winter combat training according to Kim Seung Chan, a Jeju official who is working on a plan to open some downhill ski slopes on Mt. Halla.

With easily more than two meters of thick snow cover and wide and flat highlands not generally found on the mainland, Mt. Halla is considered a perfect place for winter training not only for Black Beret soldiers but also for many professional climbers who hope to hone their winter climbing skills before heading to the Himalayas and other top summits in the world.

Online pictures of Korean skiers enjoying downhill skiing on the mountain were mostly taken during the winter exercise of those professional climbers. Guided by veteran skiers, they venture out to Eorimok or Jangkumok trail, said Park Kyung Yi, who is leading 80 college climbing club members on an upcoming winter survival training session slated for Jan. 24. Park said that while skiing on Mt. Halla is illegal, park rangers condone the use of alpine ski plates as they are an essential part of the climbers’ winter exercise.

Kim Seung Chan believes that skiing is the right tonic for the island’s tourism industry, which aspires to attract as many visitors to Jeju in the winter as in the summer. Kim hopes to offer amateur skiers and tourists the joy of downhill skiing by converting some existing trails to ski slopes.

“There are some 30 kilometers of forest trails around the shoulder of Mt. Halla which are wide enough to accommodate cross-country skiers,” said Kim. Those trails up in the 800 to 1,000 meter range of the mountain were constructed long ago to transport timber but have remained deserted for decades.

For downhill skiers, Kim eyes the winding motorway connecting the 2.4-kilometer distance between the entrance of Yeongsil trail and the parking lot below. This might be the only viable way to open a slope without further damaging The Hallasan National Park, Kim said. The snaking motorway remains covered with thick snow all throughout the winter anyway, and he asks why not convert it to a ski slope?

So how does he plan to lift hundreds of potential skiers and tourists to the start of the Yeongsil slope? Kim believes snowmobiles might be the plausible answer for skiers, as building a conventional chairlift link is not an option on Mt. Halla. Do not expect to ski down the slope paved with asphalt anytime soon, though. This year Kim has barely started laying out the road map for a potential ski tour on the island.

And if you are already dreaming about plowing down Jeju’s thick powder snow up in the highlands, wake up now. “The snow of Mt. Halla is very wet,” warned Park Kyung Yi.



¨Ï Jeju Weekly 2009 (http://www.jejuweekly.com)
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Copyright ¨Ï 2009 All materials on this site are protected under the Korean Copyright Law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published without the prior consent of jeju weekly.com.