Slope Off to a Winter Ski Thrill

Anyone who has taken to the world's snow slopes will tell you that skiing is the winter sport to beat them all ?summer pursuits included. All you need to enjoy it is a fairly healthy bank balance for crucial equipment (though this can often be rented), a measure of courage, a fine sense of balance, the stamina of an ox and the tenacity of a bulldog when constantly picking yourself up. You will need the latter because, if you're a beginner on the nursery slopes, you will keep falling down.

Your focus will shift when you become competent, for this is when you will truly start to experience a combination of the heart-clutching thrills of sky-diving and the speed of motor-cycle racing. What true enthusiasts call the Great Escape. The difference is that your ski-clad feet will be on the ground, and you will find yourself hurtling down a slope at the speed of a car on a motorway -- a slope that seems endless from the top, but which in reality often takes you less than a minute to traverse.

Unless you realize this, you will arrive at the bottom with a loud bang as you hit the fence. Properly instructed, however, you will learn how to slow down when the end of the slope approaches. This is one of the biggest thrills of all: the successful completion of a far-from-smooth run, and you're still standing upright! You can now tell your friends that you really are a skier.

A warning: as you become more competent, thus more confident, you will be tempted to try advanced slopes beyond your ability. Don't. Novices need to take lessons and follow coaches' advice, taking skiing step by step, or rather skid by skid. And beware of racing against your friends. There is no sense being the fastest person between the slopes' markers. Not if you have two broken legs at the finish.

While alpine-style skiing is still comparatively new to China, the northern part of the country offers an excellent choice of centers and slopes where you can both practice and, when qualified, enjoy some excellent runs with snow as good as can be found anywhere in the world, Switzerland included.

Until recent years, skiing was always on ... well, a conventional pair of skis, with a skier's balance aided by a spiked pole attached to each wrist. Proper apparel remains essential: rain- and snow-proof outerwear, a crash helmet and sunglasses to guard against the glare. It's the same today, with the addition of snowboard skiing. It requires the same clothing, helmet etc., but not the poles.

The best and most recent local demonstration of snowboarding was in Jackie Chen's movie, in which he fled at high speed on a board, using remarkable skill. Fantasy, of course, but it gave an idea of the board's versatility and potential. In time, with a conventional skiing course under your belt, you might turn to ski-boarding, now acknowledged as the hottest advance in winter sports.

YABULI
Located some 195km east of Harbin City in Heilongjiang Province, and 120km west of Mudanjiang City, Yabuli Ski Center (Windmill Village) usually gets about 170 days of snow between early November and the end of April. The center, in the Changbai Mountains at an altitude of 444m, comprises 240 acres whose highest point is just over 1,000m. Snow in this area can be more than one meter in depth, but is of good quality -- neither too soft or hard and generally stable.

There are three advanced skiing courses, three intermediate and five for beginners. The slopes are from 1,000 to 5,000m in length, with vertical drops from 75-605m. Gradients are 4-16m. Under international regulations, beginners' slopes are marked green, intermediate blue and advanced black. Skiers should never venture onto a slope inappropriate to their skill level.

TheYabuli center has three two-person chair lifts and three standard lifts traversing a total distance of 4,230 meters at a speed of 1.5m per second. Lift capacity is 1,500 skiers an hour. The main chair lift for Sanguokui Mountain covers 1,606m at 18 degrees in 15 minutes. En route is a 570m vertical drop.

Accommodation: there are 11 European-style villas with a total of 76 rooms, a three-star hotel with 88 rooms and a 64-room youth apartment building. Visitors can also lodge in Harbin City, which has several three-, four- and five-star hotels. Under development for the past six years, the Yabuli center is China's largest world-class skiing area.

Getting there: From Beijing, you can fly to Harbin City or Mudanjiang City for about 1,800 yuan, return. You then go on to Yabuli by train or shuttle bus. Alternatively, you can take a return rail trip (train No. 460) to Yabuli for 780 yuan.
Website http://www.yabuliski.com.cn is worth visiting, or call (0451) 366-1719, (0451) 367-8986 or (0451) 345-5168.

BEIDAHU
Beidahu Skiing Field is located on the remains of Mount Changbai, 56km from Jilin City and 141km from Changchun City. With a 17.5sq.km ski area, it has emerged as an important center for enthusiasts of all skill levels.

Five high-mountain slopes have runs totaling 8,040m, with slopes at 32 degrees maximum, 7 degrees minimum and averaging 15 degrees. Six cableways have a total length of 6,040m, while lifts can transport up to 3,300 people per hour. The cableways, direct to the top of the mountains, are used to assist skiing courses. Visitors are able to hire 1,000 pairs of imported skis and boots, along with skiing poles.

Accommodation: In the main Baixue Building and local athletes' village are 204 three-star guest rooms with a total of 600 beds. Some rooms can sleep three or four people. There are also double and single rooms. A standard room costs 256 yuan per night in the Baixue Building, and 360 yuan in the athletes?village.

Getting there: There is a daily train from Beijing to Jilin City at 4.20pm. Cost: 271 yuan. From Jilin there is a convenient bus direct to the skiing slopes. Alternatively, you can take the one-and-a-half-hour flight to Jilin, where a special bus will take you to Beidahu.

Website http//www.jlbdh.com.cn or telephone (0432) 420-2222 or (0432) 420-2168.

SAIBEI SKIING RESORT
This Hebei Province resort, near Zhangjiakou City, is about 265km from Beijing. There are 10 snow slopes with a total length of 7,000m for beginners, intermediate and advanced skiers. The resort has four lifts and enough high quality rental skiing equipment for at least 1,000 people. Natural snow provides 120 days of skiing annually, and the resort has an advanced snow-making machine for use when necessary.

Accommodation: The resort, open until the end of March, can accommodate 350 people and host 800 diners.

Getting there: Visitors can drive to Saibei or call its Beijing office and acquire membership that qualifies them for a tourist visit (Tel: 6712-9785, or 6711-2847).
Website: http//www. saibeiski.com

BEIJING SNOW WORLD
ENTERTAINMENT CENTER

Located near the Ming Tombs in Changping District, about 36km north of downtown Beijing, the center's snow is artificial and thus offers guaranteed skiing on its 500,000sq.m area for 270 days each year. It also offers a large car-parking area. Ski equipment imported from the United States and Canada can be rented or purchased, and training classes are run by professionals.

Intermediate and advanced ski slopes are illuminated at night. Also available to visitors are ski-bobs, ski-lifts, horse-drawn sledges and dog-drawn sleighs.
Tel: 8976-1899 or 8976-1886.