At first, I was a little jealous of the Nomad who had snow early in the morning and felt Sokcho might get no snow at all.Soon after ten this morning it started to snow here. Actually, it started to hail. Iceballs rattled the windows for a while and gradually became snow.
You might be surprised that a Canadian would be so excited about snow. It was KwandongAlex's first snowfall he could be outside for.
He was not excited nor happy. We came in very quickly. As we expect high winds all day, I doubt he will spend much more time outside. We'll see.
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You have a kid after my own (southern U.S. born and raised) heart. :-) Thanks for sharing such a cute picture. I was totally lazy and didn't get a decent shot of the snow.
He enjoyed it more the next day but he really wasn't happy when I took this picture.
efdi google search snow sokcho and then this blog came to 1st line!
I will travel to Sokcho on Jan23, planning to do short 2-3 hour hike on Mt Seorak, to join Inje Festival, to see nearby places in 3 days.
Since Sokcho is my stopover return trip from hawaii, i really have no idea how cold it can be.
I have never been to a place with temp below O degree celsius.
I am not planning to ski. Do i still need to buy a ski pant?
I have a long down jacket and a hat. My hongkong friend is going to lend me a pair of wool underwear long pants and gloves.
my shoes will be classic K Swiss only.
Do u think i am fine with my clothes to go Sokcho and Mt Seorak?
I think a hat, down jacket and gloves will be fine to keep you warm. You might consider a scarf but you can buy one here cheaply, if you feel you need one. Skipants are completely unneccessary and probably long underwear are unneccessary as well (but as a light-weight insurance plan, will be fine).
I suggest a few pair of warm wool socks, which aren't completely neccessary but I like them. I don't know the 'K-swiss' brand so I don't know how warm they will be. If you are moving and dry, they will be fine. If you stand for long periods or get them wet, there will be problems -but if you simply change socks, that will help.
The hike is another matter. I worry about your traction. Even good hiking boots slip in packed snow and all the trails in Seorak will be packed snow in late January. I reccommend 'ijen' -a half-set of crampons you can strap on to shoes or boots. They will cost 6,000 to 15,000+ won and any set will do although the cheaper sets are harder to put on or take off with cold fingers.
Entering Seorak near Sokcho, I reccommend the Ulsan Bowi or Gumgang Cave trails. They fit your timeline and offer great views, but there will be a lot of ice in the last half kilometer or so - you will need 'ijen'!
Again, on the subject of cold, I would be most concerned with your time in Inje. I don't know the area well but it will be colder. If you expect to stand on the ice for any length of time, you might bring a newspaper to stand on to insulate your feet from the ice (don't forget the wool socks).
Wow Thank you so much for your detailed info, Brian!
I certainly will need "ijen" then but i have no idea about "ijen".
Do u think i can buy "ijen" in Seoul? My 1st night will be in Seoul Guangnam area, which is close to Express bus terminal.
Sure i will try to get some wool socks too.
The newspaper on snow tips is very useful!!!!
Thank you!
I suspect someone at the underground market at the Express bus terminal will sell them. There are a few information booths at the express bus terminal so you could ask there for a nearby hiking shop.
I would avoid Northface or K2, you can get cheaper ones that will be fine for a single hike. If you plan to use them more than one time, or have some other motivation, buy pricier ones but you don't need to.
Brian,
Do u have a picture of "ijen"?
i google search on the Net but still got no idea how "ijen" looks like.
chiu~
I posted two pics.
http://gangwon.blogspot.com/2007/01/ijen-instep-crampons.html
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