2013Year3Month8Day, for women, it’s a day worth celebrating because they get a half-day off. Likewise, my better half also had a half-day holiday, which was quite convenient, so I mustered up the courage and slipped out quietly. With this half-day plus the two days of Saturday and Sunday, I managed to pull off this late-season skiing trip to Beidahu.
As early as half a month ago, we had planned to go skiing and also to test our learning progress. By coincidence, we found an online direct ski shuttle from Shenyang to Beidahu in Jilin. The price was quite reasonable, departing every Friday at noon and returning on Sunday evening, arriving back in Shenyang around9o'clock in the evening. The entire journey is on the highway, operated by Huyue Express, costing less than1000RMB per person, including2two days of lift and ski tickets, two nights’ accommodation with breakfast, as well as round-trip transportation.
Alright, that’s the general introduction covered. Now let’s get to the main story. After finding an excuse to slip out of the office in the morning, I headed straight to a friend’s place because his home is closer to the departure point, so we temporarily stored our ski gear there. After a quick tidy-up, we went to pick up our leader. Once we reunited with the leader and packed all our gear, we set off on our journey.
First, let me introduce what we brought. Each of us had a backpack containing snacks for the trip, a netbook, toiletries, underwear, a ski board bag, two pairs of ski boots, and helmets and ski poles stored inside the board bag. My girlfriend’s and my gloves and goggle neck straps were kept in the boot bag.PS: The computer wasn’t really necessary to bring. If you want to bring something, just bring a small electronic device like aiPADortouch. After a tiring day of skiing, you won’t have much energy to go online at night anyway. Bring plenty of food, especially chocolate and Snickers bars—they’re very expensive at the ski resort and not cheap at highway service areas either. Ski equipment apart from the boards and boots, protective gear is also essential: helmet, ski goggles, gloves, and face protection. Especially the face protection—when you’re speeding downhill, you’ll definitely need it. Without it, your smiling face will be blasted red like a carrot.
When we arrived at the meeting point, there were still20minutes before departure time. From time to time, a few more people showed up carrying big and small bags. There were also two people who had specifically come from Fushun. At1:10pm, the Huyue Express finally arrived. It turned out the bus had already taken on nearly30passengers—they were all members of a skiing club from Shenyang. The driver opened the luggage compartment, and we quickly stowed away our ski boards and boots. We hit the highway, and there were also10more ski buddies who got on in Fushun. We got off at the Fushun West Highway exit. The last10passengers who boarded couldn’t fit their gear in the already full luggage compartment, so they had to place their ski equipment in the narrow space between the aisle and the middle door of the bus.
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On the bus, we sat right behind the driver. The scenery was all white snow.
After about5hours of travel, we arrived at Beidahu. The bus drove straight to the hotel entrance. We stayed at a place called the Beidahu Asian Games Village.The entrance and lobby gave a fairly decent impression. To the right as you enter is the hotel bar and ticket window, while to the left is a small convenience store selling items like instant noodles, Red Bull, and some sponge cakes. The selection was limited and very expensive. I bought a,pack of instant noodles and two cans of Red Bull, totaling2yuan,60! Since we had gone as part of a group and booked in advance, after arrival we simply used our ID cards to collect the room keys at the front desk. We carried our ski gear and took the elevator straight to our room. There was a little incident while looking for our room—we were in theOMG! Since we were on a group tour and had made reservations in advance, we simply went to the front desk after arrival, picked up our room keys with our ID cards, slung our ski gear over our shoulders, took the elevator straight to our room. There was a small incident while looking for our room — it was locatedBth, as we didn’t look closely at the room key card, we thought our room was inAth. When we got there, we realized it wasn’t.Ath’s third floor seems to be the ski school or staff dormitories, V said one Bth is accessible via the restaurant on the second floor and then climbing up another flight of stairs.
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The lobby of the Asian Games Village Hotel, with people who had just arrived and their numerous bags
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The team leader took a photo after getting the room key (the photo-loving girl)
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Exterior of the Asian Games Village Hotel (from the official website)
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Second-floor restaurant of the Asian Games Village Hotel (from the official website)
Entering the room, it felt like just a place to sleep,The TV was an old small color TV, but there were quite a few channels from various countries—probably satellite TV. Sadly, there was no Jiangsu TV. My room window faced south, so it was bright and not cold. The heating was really good. From the window, you could directly see1cable car and1,2ski runs. After checking in at night, I heard the sound of vehicles roaring outside the window. When I opened the window, it turned out to be snow groomers working on the slopes. Haha, I’m really looking forward to skiing on noodle-like snow tomorrow morning！
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Inside the room, an antique TV
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One board, two boots, and one girl
Breakfast the next day was from 7:30 to 8:30. We got up and washed up at 7:00, ate breakfast at 7:30. The breakfast was pitiful—just steamed buns and Chinese cabbage. After forcing down a few small buns, we headed straight to the first-floor bar to pick up the cable car card. Since the team leader didn’t buy skis, only boots, we had to ask around and then go to the ski equipment hall to rent gear. Arriving at the ski gear hall after 8:00, we found it hadn’t opened yet. After discussing with the team leader, we decided to go upstairs to change into the boots first, put on gloves and helmets, and then head to the ski gear hall to rent the skis directly and hit the slopes.
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Freshly groomed noodle-like snow in the morning. These are runs 1 and the upper run 2. This cable car is the No. 1 lift, and the thin one above is the No. 2 lift leading to run 2.
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1Lift entrance for the No. 2 cable car
Our group-purchased tickets didn’t include the cost of renting ski gear, but there was a discount.100yuan per day, with a deposit of500yuan. By showing the deposit receipt from the room key to the rental staff, we could rent the gear at the discounted price—and it was even high-end gear (I wonder what the low-end gear is? Maybe pointed ones?). We paid200yuan directly. The gear wouldn’t be returned that night, so the next day we could justSKI-IN/SKI-OUTgo. By the way, kudos to the staff at the ski gear hall—they had great service attitudes and patiently adjusted the length of the bindings for us:-).
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Paying the deposit to rent skis at the ski gear hall (that little black neck gaiter doubled quite effectively as a face mask)
PS: Later, it turned out that little neck gaiter was pretty useful—the wind and snow hitting your face while skiing down hurt quite a bit
Coming out of the ski gear hall, you’re greeted by biting cold winds. Although it’s3month, Beidahu still shows no sign of spring. Plus, we happened to catch a spell of cold weather with snowfall. The wind hitting your face is quite the shock. I had specifically brought a neck gaiter, which came in handy for my team leader. After receiving praise, I felt all warm inside too.
It was our first time at Beidahu. We weren’t familiar with the ski runs, lifts, or terrain. Although we’d checked the run map online before coming, once we arrived, we were still disoriented. Right outside the ski gear hall was the high-speed gondola. Going left also led to the Asian Games Village lobby, right in front of which was1cable car and1No.2Slope,1Between the chairlift and the gondola is an inconspicuous area where the beginner slope and2the two-person cable car are located. At first, our leader was afraid to go on1Slope No. 64, so they suggested we start with the beginner slope to get used to it and practice. So the two of us got on the two-person beginner cable car. Only after we got there did we realize that no one else was using that cable car at all. The staff were inside a little hut, and I didn’t notice them at first—I thought no one was manning it. It seemed the staff never expected anyone would actually want to use it. Once seated in the cable car, I realized,this cable car is really a rip-off!! It’s slow, freezing cold, and the ride is nearly2a kilometer long—it could literally freeze you solid. By the halfway point of the ride, my ski jacket had been completely penetrated by the wind, and I couldn’t stop sneezing. I finally understood why no one was using this cable car. After about twenty minutes, we finally reached the top. The scenery along the way was quite nice—on the right you can see the advanced slopes winding down the mountain.
After getting off the cable car, there’s a small path that’s an ungroomed slope, giving you a little taste of off-piste skiing. Once you round a bend, you reach the groomed slope. That slope might be in a wind-exposed area, as parts of it had already turned into hard ice. Fortunately, the slope isn’t very steep, or it would’ve been really tough to handle.
On the second run, our leader still insisted on practicing on the beginner slope, but halfway through the second cable car ride, she regretted it. After getting off, she decisively went for1Lift No. 69.
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The ridiculous beginner two-person cable car (what a long ride!)
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To the right of Slope No. 4 is the mid-to-advanced slope area, which also includes off-piste runs, folks.
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Slope No. 4, Lift No. 4—no one was skiing there, no one was even riding it!!
Lift No. 1 was super crowded. Later I found out that a skiing group from Beijing had arrived, with around 200–300 people—they were here for some kind of competition, and I heard there were some top-level skiers among them. Lift No. 1 is a four-person chairlift. When getting on, you first scan your lift card—one card per person. After scanning, you pass through a three-bar gate. Here I have to complain about those three-bar gates: sometimes the gate doesn’t turn after you scan your card, so you can’t get in. Then when the next person scans theirs, the person in front gets in, but the one behind gets stuck. Re-scanning within three minutes doesn’t work, so you just have to wait another three minutes. I unfortunately ran into this problem three times in one day. After passing through the gate, you line up in four rows and then wait behind an automatic door to board the lift one by one. Lift No. 1 is an Austrian four-person detachable chairlift. It moves very slowly while people are getting on and off, but once out of the station, it speeds up quickly, and you can even feel a slight push when it accelerates—ha ha. Not only is Lift No. 1 fast, it’s also warm—you don’t feel much wind, whether that’s psychological or due to its location, I’m not sure.
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1The bottom of the lift, and right behind it is2the top station of Lift No. 7.
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On the slope of Slope No. 1, the winding slope opposite is made up of various mid-to-advanced runs.
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Our leader showed off a bit on1Slope No. 7.
1The bottom station of Lift No. 8 is right next to2the top station of Lift No. 9.2Lift No. 9 is a slow two-person lift that goes straight to2Slope No. 9, a black diamond advanced slope. My partner and I aren’t skilled enough, so we didn’t dare try it—ha ha. Above1Slope No. 8 is2Slope No. 10. Watching the pros carve down the advanced slope was truly enviable. Actually,1Slope No. 10, the intermediate slope, isn’t as steep as it looks from below. Once you’re on it, it feels manageable. We were having so much fun skiing that we barely took any photos. This slope seems perfect for those with a bit of skiing experience to practice on. My partner got to experience edge control and the rebound of the snow against the skis here. After discussing it, we decided to stick to this slope for the whole day.1The first half of Slope No. 11 is intermediate in difficulty, with an average gradient of22%as stated on the official site. The second half is beginner level, though the exact gradient isn’t specified. On the left side of the slope, there’s also a two-person tow rope to help beginners get up the gentle hill. I won’t go into detail about the skiing experience—after a full day of hard practice, my legs were sore and achy. The ski resort closes at44:3088 PM.
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The slopes close at 4:30 PM.
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It’s starting to snow!
After packing up the gear and getting back to the room, I was so exhausted I could barely walk. After quickly changing my shoes, I thought I’d take a short nap, had a little of the snacks I brought, and then fell sound asleep, waiting to hit the slopes again the next day.
The next day, we followed our usual routine: had breakfast, went back to the room to change into ski boots, grabbed our boards, and headed straight for the slopes. The weather today was exceptionally nice—sunny with pleasant temperatures. My partner naively thought there was no need to wear a neck gaiter or face protection, but after one run, her little face was as red as a radish from the cold. After retrieving the neck gaiter for face protection, we went on with our usual runs.1We hit Run No. [number missing], and around noon, somehow my partner got the courage to suggest trying the high-speed chairlift. Actually, I’d been thinking the same thing, so when she brought it up, it was an instant agreement. But we didn’t want to go up blindly—if we couldn’t ski down, it would be pretty embarrassing. She suggested we ask the resort staff first. After their helpful advice, we decided to get off at the mid-station of the lift, which is the lower section of Run No. [number missing]—not too difficult.9With some trepidation, we queued up and got on the chairlift. Going up, I wasn’t feeling too confident since it was my first time. I didn’t even have the mood to enjoy the view outside the window. When we reached the mid-station, there was a big slope right in front of us, and I started to have second thoughts. After a few minutes of adjusting, I slowly made my way down, and gradually gained more confidence. My partner also found her rhythm and started carving down turn by turn, then smoothly linking turns. Honestly, both of us are skilled enough for real intermediate slopes—we just lacked a bit of confidence. Haha, along the way, I even saw a [number missing]-year-old girl skiing down with her instructor—really impressive from the bottom of my heart. A few minutes later, we successfully made it to the bottom. Seeing we still had time, we decided to go again, this time aiming for the top. With the previous experience boosting our confidence, we felt no nervousness or anxiety along the way. Once we reached the peak, we decided to ski down Qingyun Avenue. According to official data, it’s [number missing] meters long, with an average gradient of [number missing], and an average width of [number missing] meters. The start felt pretty good—the slope was similar to Run No. [number missing]. Midway, we ran into a bit of trouble: there was a section where I felt the slope was over [number missing] degrees. Due to the steepness, the snow in the middle had been blown away, exposing patches of ice. We hesitated for about five minutes. During that time, we only saw one expert smoothly making small turns and carving down. Everyone else was being very cautious. After that slope, the trail became relatively flat with great snow quality. We successfully skied down and then did another run on Run No. [number missing]. By the time we looked at the clock, it was almost [number missing] o’clock. We packed up our gear, checked out of the room, returned the rental boards, and then tried the food at the second-floor restaurant in the YanCheng Village. It’s said to be notoriously bad and expensive—but maybe because we were so hungry and tired, it actually tasted okay.6,7The little girl, who looked about nine years old, went down the slope with her instructor — I truly admired her from the bottom of my heart. A few minutes later, we successfully reached the foot of the mountain. Seeing we still had time, we decided to go again, this time aiming for the summit. With the experience from earlier, our confidence was sky-high, and there was no nervousness or unease along the way. After reaching the top, we decided to take the Qingyun Avenue slope. The official stats say it’s3200meters long, with an average gradient of29%, and an average width of30meters. The start felt pretty good — the slope was similar to1. Midway, we ran into a bit of trouble: there was a section where I felt the slope was over50%degrees. Due to the steepness, the snow in the middle had been blown away, exposing patches of ice. We hesitated there for about five minutes. During that time, we only saw one expert smoothly make a small turn and carve down through the snow. Everyone else descended very cautiously. After that slope, the run became relatively flat with excellent snow quality. After successfully skiing down, we did1again. By the time we looked at the clock, it was almost2o’clock. We packed up our gear with our leader, checked out of the room, and returned the ski boards. Then, we tried the food at the second-floor restaurant in the Asian Games Village, which was said to be notoriously bad and expensive. Maybe because we were too hungry and tired, it actually tasted okay —-(though it was really pricey!). A meat dish, two vegetable dishes, and two bowls of rice cost nearly [number missing] yuan. But thinking about those [number missing]-yuan instant noodles, it didn’t bother me as much.100yuan. But thinking about that60yuan instant noodles, we didn’t feel so bad about it.
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A bright and sunny morning on the second day
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9The lower section of the [cable car name missing]—the beginner part of the advanced slopes—my partner gradually started getting the hang of it.
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The second time on the chairlift, I felt much calmer and wasn’t worried about falling off anymore.
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Looking out from the chairlift, the scenery was really beautiful.
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Qingyun Avenue—our skiing route for the day
3We boarded the bus back on time at [time missing] and later found out that the regulars who frequently ski at Beidahu all eat on the way back. A few kilometers after the bus left, at the big gourd spot, they had pre-ordered steaming buns. Watching everyone get off the bus to eat buns, my wife and I were pretty bummed. If only we’d skied a bit longer and then come back for the buns.
We arrived safely in Shenyang at around [time missing].9And so, my wife’s and my skiing trip for this season ended here—but also began here, because we’re officially starting a new phase of practice for the next season. Can’t wait for the next ski season to arrive.13-14the next ski season
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