With zero experience hiking in the snow, I headed with Seoul Hiking Group two hours southeast of Seoul to Chiaksan, a mountain infamous for it’s harsh winds and unforgiving cold temperatures. It was both beautiful and insanely challenging. While the distance to the peak, Birobong is short (there are only 2.7 kilometers of ascent,) the incline is steep. After two hours of trudging through the snow, we reached the peak. It was impressive, but too cold to be bearable in our makeshift winter gear.

As it was extremely, extremely cold, I was unable to take as many photos as I would have wanted. These photographs do not do the experience justice.

A few Holga photos from this hike are in the works as well!