panhead_pete 27 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Well to celebrate Spring Festival and the fact it was a warm day (Max -15) I took my team skiing at the local hill here in Baishan. There was a small ropeway for ½ the length of the hill and a pomma for the full length but it wasn’t operating so I walked to the top ½ a couple times to ride some untracked pow on the side of the run. This place was really small, quite flat but we had a ball and some of my guys did really well for their 1st ever time. Even if they couldn’t turn or stop ïŠ Here is the view up the hill and down. Obviously its not as sublime as the Hakuba valley but it sure beat being at work for the day ïŠ This is Tina, one of the cuties from work. As you can see there was no outer wear available for hire just boots, skis and poles. It didn’t bother the guys, they just got right into it. This is “Crash†a great fearless guy that works for me. 1st day out, no lessons, and was continually making it top to bottom. He couldn’t get the V thing happening though and had to literally crash to stop. He already had this nickname prior to the day ïŠ This is him, after a “stop†Here’s a couple pics of the guys with obligatory peace sign and some clown whose nickname is Panda in a Panda hat. It was funny but yesterday was the 1st day I had ridden in lots of years without a helmet and the only day I can recall not falling once. My boss said the guys could go as long as no one got hurt, bit of a risk but so be it. I almost fainted when one of the girls showed me her hand and it looked like it had significant snow burn and was really red, this pic kind of shows how bad it was. Needless to say I was worried until I found out it was dye coming out of the $1US gloves. Even with socks labeled I still get it wrong. Managed to lock the keys in the house too which sucked when I got home and it was -20c. “I’m not very smart but can lift heavy thingsâ€. This is how they keep the buses warm here in the winter, by running the radiator inside. Was hoping we weren’t going to blow a hose… After a big phat steamboat lunch we finished the day as any day should end, with a couple hours of pong. It was a lovely day and my guys were stoked. Total cost including hiring 3 sets of skis etc and 2 hrs for 7 of us was just on $65. Bargain! I’m glad we did it as may be leaving here shortly and now its country 3 for the season so far ïŠ Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 $65?! Nice report pete, where abouts in China are you actually? Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Thanks for the props Muik. Its a town called Baishan, in Jilin Prov, 50km from the North Korean border. Google map is probably the best way to find it. If I knew how to post a map I would Yeah just over $100Au including a big Steamboat lunch with beer and a bottle of red, for all of us. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I thought it was Niseko at first Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 found it Funny how North Korea is just a blank sheet! Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 So this is what you passed up Niseko for then eh? Strange, thought the Chinese elite would be pouncing on skiing. Link to post Share on other sites
Jynxx 4 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Big day out for your team, mate. Good on ya. Nice one so that´s the local run you were talking about .. That radiater heater is sus as a bus. I think the girl held on to the bar as much as it was cold, but yeah, that looks like frost bite. Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut_in_HongKong 0 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 That area is interesting for those who visit Jilin, which is bit remote. If you come near Beijing there are quite a few ski resorts nearby. I guess that difficulty is similar to the one from Jynxx. Ten resorts here: http://en.beijingski.com/resort/skiresorts.htm I estimate there are probably around 20-30 resorts in China. Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Yeah rode Nanshan last year in January on a day trip from Beijing. Was a cool way to spend a day and relatively cheap with a bus ride there and back included in the trip. Have you been to any of the others Kraut? Appears there is something happening at the Bird's Nest at the moment and might look at that on the way back through on my next trip. Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut_in_HongKong 0 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Originally Posted By: panhead_pete Have you been to any of the others Kraut? Nope, I did intensive research about ski in China but never went. Since I need to fly somewhere and then travel by bus a few hours time would be similar to Japan. I have checked for Yabuli near Harbin once, but cost was higher then Japan. And after you spend all that money on tickets you get one 500m slope. If I were in Beijing (or whatever place near a slope) I would try it, but just for ski. No. Originally Posted By: panhead_pete Appears there is something happening at the Bird's Nest at the moment... ...but last month I was in Sölden in Austria. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 a bit of a sidetrack here, but in Japan they still call Beijing, "Peking". Why did the name change after the commies took over? Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut_in_HongKong 0 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: Tubby Beaver a bit of a sidetrack here, but in Japan they still call Beijing, "Peking". Why did the name change after the commies took over? Nothing related to commies at all. Beijing would be the correct mandarin for 北京, or to make it very exact, Běijīng. Peking derives probably from the Cantonese "Bak King" and is still the cities name in some languages, German i.e. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 really? I thought it changed after the 2nd world war(and subsequent Chinese Civil war). In the UK it was called Peking, but nowadays Beijing. just googled it and I'm surprised to find out that there was no sly, commie mind games at work and Kraut is correct. Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut_in_HongKong 0 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Coz Pinyin got only introduced in the 1940th or 50th and nowadays all cities in China follow that romanization now. Other examples are Qingdao/Tsingtao or Chongqing/Chunking. IMHO that is something good, specially since we have in HK very poor romanization from Cantonese. 'Gold/金' is gam, but can be kam, kan, gan or jin. No system at all, just one big mix. Link to post Share on other sites
stemik 14 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Interesting to see. The lady without gloves on the pull lift....wow must be strong. Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: stemik Interesting to see. The lady without gloves on the pull lift....wow must be strong. She is a real champ. Thanks for the info Kraut, will be going to Harbin to see the Ice Festival on the 10th but will still drag my gear up there Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut_in_HongKong 0 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Originally Posted By: panhead_pete Originally Posted By: stemik Interesting to see. The lady without gloves on the pull lift....wow must be strong. She is a real champ. Thanks for the info Kraut, will be going to Harbin to see the Ice Festival on the 10th but will still drag my gear up there Google for "Yabuli", it's one of the biggest resorts in China. Bring also cold weather wax, you can have -30ºC on the slopes. (I had -28ºC on the top of mount Sölden and you could feel that the wax was not for that temperature - plus! - you MUST use a face mask!) Harbin Weather Link Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 No worries mate, thanks for the info. Regularly -25C here, even colder some days. Link to post Share on other sites
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