A picture made available on 09 October 2016 shows competitors during a Legion Run event, in Sofiko near the city of Corinth, Greece, 08 October 2016. Legion Run is run covering five kilometres with obstacles of mud, fire, ice and barbed wire, which takes place in different countries around the globe. (Photo by Vassilis Psomas/EPA)

Olaf Niess catches swans on the river Alster near the town hall in Hamburg, Germany, 17 November 2015. The Alster swans are moving to their ice-free winter quarters on the Eppendorf Muehlenteich millpond until spring. (Photo by Bodo Marks/EPA)

A participant kisses a trout after catching it with his bare hands during a trout catching contest at a pool in Hwacheon, South Korea, Saturday, January 7, 2023. The contest is part of an annual ice festival which draws over one million visitors every year. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)

Allison Callender and Kent Willis, members of Mekanix Gym, a total wellness center, take a cold plunge in ice after a workout at the gym's Shadow Sanctuary facility during hot weather in Houston, Texas, U.S., July 19, 2023. (Photo by Adrees Latif/Reuters)

Alex Sun, left, Peter Simplicio and Matt Connelly jump through a hole in the ice into Lake Andrews on the Bates College campus, Friday, February 9, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. The annual Bates College Puddle jump started 50 years ago as a Winter Carnival tradition. (Photo by Andree Kehn/AP Photo)

Roman Cervenka #10 of Czechia celebrates with the trophy and gets a beer thrown on him from his teammates during IHF Ice Hockey World Championship gold medal celebrations with fans at Old Town Square on May 27, 2024 in Prague, Czech Republic. (Photo by RvS.Media/Monika Majer/Getty Images)

Penitentes, or nieves penitentes (Spanish for “penitent-shaped snows”), are a snow formation found at high altitudes. They take the form of tall thin blades of hardened snow or ice, closely spaced with the blades oriented towards the general direction of the sun.

Julia Zlobina and Alexei Sitnikov of Azerbaijan gesture as they wait in the results area after competing in the ice dance free dance figure skating finals at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the 2014 Winter Olympics, Monday, February 17, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)