Korea Winter Hiking Gear: Why I Lend Crampons to Every Client
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Off Map Korea English-guided walking trips through Korea. Quiet trails, hidden villages, slow moments. Driver-only, self-guided. ▸ Plan a trip The Slope That Changed My Policy A few winters ago I drove a couple from Melbourne up to the Chiljeon valley trailhead on Seoraksan. Confident hikers, good boots, layered well. By 10 a.m. I had a WhatsApp message: one of them was sitting on the trail with a badly bruised hip, thirty minutes from the car. They had hit a patch of blue ice on a north-facing granite slab and gone down hard. The trail was rated 'moderate.' The sun never touches that section in January. That afternoon I stopped at an outdoor gear shop in Sokcho and bought four pairs of microspikes. Since then I have added crampons and microspikes to every winter booking as standard loan equipment. No extra charge, no opt-out. That one policy change has had zero injuries in the winters since. Why Korean Granite Is Uniquely Dangerous in Winter T...