Eden Valley in Yangsan
Skiing only 45 minutes from Ulsan? Fantastic.
Eden Valley is the biggest little ski hill in South Korea, and the only one that doesn’t require you getting out of bed at 4 in the morning to go to.
Yes, there is actually snow
The hills aren’t that long, nor are they that fantastic, but, they are there. If you feel the need to strap on some wood (or a poly wood blend) and fly down a mountain at midnight, you can! Eden valley is like FamilyMart, it’s not as nice as Homeplus, it’s not as big as Homeplus, but damnit, it’s a hell of a lot closer to your house.
They offer some end of season passes that are quite cheap (weekdays, nights and sunday nights for 98 000 won). They have night skiing from 6:30 to 10 and midnight skiing from 10:30 to 2. Skiing Eden valley on the weekend is not recommended, unless you are wearing one of those bar sumo suits. Located within 50 km of Busan, Ulsan, Yangsan, Gimhae, Jinhae, Masan and Changwon, and only an hours drive from Gyeongju, Daegu and Gyeongsan (all of which have populations over 300 000, some topping 5 million) make Eden Valley one of the most popular, and crowded places to ski in the country.
Get some Head
Getting there is a bit of a challenge, this reporter couldn’t manage to find a bus running directly there. Though busses to Yangsan run every 45 minutes, and there are tonnes of busses from Yangsan to the ski hill. (Note the use of the word ‘Hill’ rather than ‘mountain’). Or, even better, you could get off your wallet and buy a vehicle.
Oh, and it’s got this massive hotel I didn’t bother going into
Rentals are available at one of the 27 000 rental stores on the way up, or right at the resort. Be warned that there is no skiing between 4:30 and 6:30 as they “change the snow” for night skiing. I didn’t get to witness this event, but it sounds quite interesting!
Empty on weekday afternoons…too bad you’ve got that job
Getting there, head to Yangsan IC on either the expressway (to Busan) or on Hwy 35 from Eonyang, then follow the signs. Keep an eye out of Eogok tunnel, that’s the way you want to go. Most of the signs are in Korean only, so before you go, learn how to read hangeul.