Winter on the mountain, one inspiring story, one sad.

The inspiring story:

A group of Korean organ donors and recipients successfully reached the 6,189-meter-high Island Peak in the Nepalese Himalayas on Dec.22. The Himalayan Expedition Team, called 'Life-Shared Group,' is the first of its kind in the world to climb one of the most popular trekking peaks of the Himalayas.

Some of their training was local:

The team trained for 12 weeks beginning September 2008, walking along the ridges of Mt. Bukhan, Mt. Dobong, and Mt. Seorak, and departed for the Himalayas on Dec. 11. Some members suffered from altitude sickness upon making it 3,500m above sea level, but their sense of mission helped them remain intensely focused.

Now, the sad story. A 51 year old climbing guide, checking and preparing an ice route for visitors to climb, was killed in an avalanche.

Police said that Kim was found to be buried in 1.5-meter-thick snow believed to be fallen from the top of 40-meter-high Yeomju Fall at Seorakdong.

Kim is alleged to have been killed, while checking the ice quality of the fall, after arriving at the foot of the fall 10 minutes earlier than the climbing club of 10 Hong Kong police officers. He was assigned to assist the Hong Kong police officers in their climbing, according to the police.

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something strange about the latter article. In searching for Mt. Seorak at the Korea Times, I was shown (I shrank the unimportant bit):

1.
Mount Seorak - National Parks of Korea (1)
Clouds hang humbly below the peaks at Mount Seorak, located in Yangyang, ... Mount Seorak, or Seoraksan National Park, is known for its stunning peaks, ...
www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2008/10/153_16673.html
2.
Buddhists Angry Again Over Temple Entrance Fees
``I visited Mt. Seorak in Gangwon Province last November to enjoy its full-fledged autumn foliage but was forced to pay the fee,’’ said Lim Hyun-chul, ...
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/03/117_40685.html
3.
Chase Away Winter Blues at Hot Springs
Seorak Waterpia, located at the foot of Mt. Seorak, Gangwon province, is one place where you can soak in an open-air hot spring tub filled with hot spring ...
www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2009/03/203_36324.html
4.
The Korea Times Nation News
A mountain guide was buried to death in bulk of snow from an icefall at Mt Seorak in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, Saturday morning, police said. ...
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/nation_list.asp?categoryCode=117&page=26

But the article was not secure (Not an "https:-----" site). Strange. It took a little work to find the article. One other article above has an "https:" prefix, but the others don't.