The weather at my house has been very cold (by California standards) this past week. We have had snow several times, although it did not stick. Yes, that is my favorite kind of snow, the stuff that says hello and then leaves. The snow in my wife’s hometown (여수시) is similar; it typically does not stick for too long. One thing that winter and snow do bring with them is skiing.

I never learned to ski growing up as it wasn’t very accessible, it was expensive, and my parents aren’t skiers. We now live fairly close to a small ski resort and the local schools offer skiing every Friday during the ski season, so my children have all learned how to ski. The Korean children that we have had in our house have also been skiers, including the boy living with us now. He says that he learned to ski when he was 10 or 11 (음력으로). He is also from 여수 and had to travel about four hours to 무주 in order to ski.

For the most part I believe that skiing is a sport/recreation reserved for those people with more disposable income than the average person. This is probably more true in Korea than here in the United States. The same could be said for golf. Interestingly, I have heard of Koreans taking golf trips to China because it is cheaper there, trip included. I wonder if skiing is the same? I know skiers here that travel to different resorts, Park City, Lake Tahoe, etc. for the experience. How far would you travel to ski? The boy with us now, he has travelled half way around the world and is enjoying California skiing.