Closed due to large, unnatural tremors. Photo: Axisleisure.com
Seventy miles from the North Korean border, China’s Changbaishan Ski Resort has become a hotspot of backcountry skiing and riding. Snowmobiles and cat machines access some of the best wild terrain (and best snow) in the Changbaishan National Nature Reserve. But because of underground nuclear testing (the resort is under 100 miles frrom the Punggye-ri testing station), Chinese officials have decided to shut down the rsort indifenitely.
“For the safety and convenience of travelers, we have temporarily closed the southern tourist zone of Changbai Mountain,” read a statement put out by authorities. “Officials are thoroughly investigating the safety of the tourist area.”
Rock movement and serious landslides in the area have made local officials question the testing in the border country to the south. In September, the undground detonation of nuclear weapons in Punggye-ri created a magnitude 6.3 earthquake followed a few seconds later by a 4.1. The explosion caused a slide in the Park which prompted the closure and the resort–which costs around $200 per day for riders and accesses some 1,500 feet of open bowls–was within that closed area. There is also an international ski resort with that area. No word on whether the resort was closed asa well
There’s also another issue. Paektu is an active volcano in the region (it last popped its top in 1903) and experts fear the testing could push it into premature eruption. According to scientists, the heavy blasting could “disturb the magma chamber of a volcano, thus accelerating the volcanic activity.”
